


Before the Beginning

by San121



Series: Of Skys and Demons [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Genre: Golden True Ending of Devil Survivor 2, I just wanted to make a family for Tsuna who love and support him, Mostly childhood stuff and fluff, Multi, Please Don't Hate Me, Sawada Nana dies, Seal is broken early, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2019-10-16 03:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17542178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/San121/pseuds/San121
Summary: In one world, Tsunayoshi grew up under the loose guidance of Sawada Nana, suffering silently due to his seal, not accomplishing much until a baby sized hitman appears.In this world, Sawada Nana's last act saved her son by giving him to a man who rushed into their burning house to help her. Tsuna is raised in a mansion with an abundant amount of Aunts and Uncles. His seal was removed within the week it was placed on him. This tells the story of Hotsuin Tsunayoshi before Reborn.





	1. The End and the Beginning

If he hadn’t been passing by, Hibiki doesn’t know what would have happened to the little boy currently drifting off in his arms after sobbing loudly as his home and mother go up in flames. Clinging to the boy just as tightly as he’s being clung to, Hibiki feels his anger burn his up his throat with bile as the firefighters rush around and past him, remembering the dark figure fleeing the scene minutes before.

“Hibiki! Holy shit!” he hears Daichi yell, running over to him with Io hot on his tail.

“Not so loud, Daichi. The kid just tired himself out,” Hibiki hisses, glancing down at the little boy in his arms. When he didn’t wake up, the three of them sigh in relief.

“Seriously, some sick fuck just lit up the place and ran?” Daichi whispers harshly, growling when Hibiki nods. Io sighs and pets the little boy’s hair, sighing, “Poor boy, was he crying the whole time?”

“Yeah, he wanted his mother, but she was trapped in the house,” Hibiki explains, frowning at the little whimper the five-year-old makes, clinging to Hibiki’s white coat.

“Excuse me, Doctor?” a man in a suit asks, walking up to the trio. Hibiki blinks before narrowing his eyes, listening to his gut and staying well out of arms reach of the man.

“May I help you?” Hibiki intones, raising one eyebrow, ignoring Daichi’s cough and Io’s giggle at how he’s borrowing the move from his husband. The man swallows nervously (as he should) before trying to barrel on.

“I’m here to take Sawada-kun to his father.”

“Oh really,” Hibiki asks, emulating his husband even more as his mind registers the body language that shows that the man is lying, “Well, may I know his father’s name, to call him after the boy has been checked up on?”

“Um, you don’t need-” the man tries to argue when Daichi points out, “He totally needs to know the dad’s name, because he’s the best doctor in this town.” The man fumbles, his finger tips lightly burnt, which catch Io’s attention. Loudly, she catches his hand and cries out, “Oh dear! You seem to have gotten burnt!” The Police and Hibari group all snap their attention over to them while the man flounders for something to say.

“Wow, you must have gotten close to the fire! Although, no one else is burnt. Not even Sawada-kun!” Io continues, her face lightly pink from drawing so much attention to herself but plowing on. The man sputters and tries to get out of her grasp, only to be grabbed by a Hibari member, who grins darkly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he’s taken care of,” the member promises, his eyes promising that the man won’t like being ‘taken care of’. The trio watch, admittedly a little scared, as the man is dragged back to the police and the Hibaris.

“So, while the pay is good and the place is nice, I kind of want to go back to Tokyo,” Daichi says, once again getting laughs from Io and Hibiki. Sawada-kun moans softly against Hibiki’s shoulder, clutching the material tightly as he whimpers “Mama” in his sleep, sobering the mood rapidly.

“What are you going to do with him?” Io asks softly, petting his fluffy brown hair gently, which seems to sooth the boy from whatever he’s seeing in his sleep. Hibiki frowns before pulling out his cellphone, scrolling down until he finds his husband’s number.

“How fast do you think I can get Yamato on board for having a kid?” Hibiki asks.

“Dude, no,” Daichi tries not to laugh while Io giggles, already knowing that Yamato was going to lose, and badly.

* * *

Tsuna blinks awake slowly, whining at the sunlight peeking through the window. He huddles under the soft blankets, seconds away from going back to sleep, when he remembers that his home burned down. Shooting up in the bed, Tsuna looks around the room fearfully before getting confused. The pale orange walls give way to pale wood furniture, with presents and toys set on the table. Clinging to the blanket, Tsuna jumps when the door opens to the nice man from yesterday.

“Oh! Good morning,” he calls, smiling at Tsuna. Tsuna blinks at the nice man, who hums while dropping off some more gifts, chuckling and shaking his head.

“How are you feeling?” he asks Tsuna, sitting down on the bed. Despite remembering what his Momma told him, a part of Tsuna that he trusts whispers really quietly that he can trust the man.

“Okay. Sad,” Tsuna answers, fisting the blankets as he remembers his Momma handing him to the man before the fire got to them. The man sighs, petting Tsuna’s hair comfortingly. Feeling the tears well up in his eyes, Tsuna hiccups and blinks rapidly. This whole week has been awful. First, two strange men showed up, with Momma telling him that one is supposed to be his ‘Papa’. Then, the two men made him cold and made it hard to concentrate, before leaving while he slept. And now, he doesn’t have a Momma anymore. It’s not fair.

“Hey, c’mere,” the nice man coaxes him into his arms, rocking Tsuna back and forth while shushing his cries and hiccups, assuring Tsuna, “it’s okay. You’re allowed to feel bad. A terrible thing happened and you’re allowed to be sad.” Tsuna sobs into the man’s chest, clinging to his white shirt as the tears won’t stop. The man stays with him, humming softly and petting his hair the whole time. As he slowly stops crying, Tsuna realizes the man hasn’t let him go, despite Tsuna being broken.

“Thank you,” Tsuna whispers, burying his face into his shirt. The man doesn’t say anything, instead rocking and petting Tsuna’s hair.

“Hey, if you want, I can introduce you to my husband and friends. They would like to meet you, Sawada-kun,” the man offers. Tsuna blinks, looking up at the nice man, hearing that part of himself again whisper to trust the man again.

“Tsuna. I’m Tsuna,” he introduces himself, watching in fascination as the man’s blue eyes widen before softening.

“I’m Hotsuin Hibiki,” the man introduces himself in reply, offering his hand to Tsuna. Without a moment of hesitation, Tsuna takes Hotsuin-san’s hand, allowing himself to be led from this nice room.


	2. Introductions are hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamato and the others meet Tsuna-kun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story will have a few spoilers to Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker, due to being post the Golden Ending of the Triangulum arc. Just a big heads up if you haven't completed the game.

Yamato frowns at his coffee, waiting for Hibiki to come down the stairs with Sawada-kun, as Shijima, Akie, and Nitta all wait impatiently beside him. Kujou and Ban are talking quietly about music while Wakui tries to escape from helping Torii cook in the kitchen. Sako, Kanno, Kuriki, and Yanagiya are all working right now, but they promised to come by later, while Al Saiduq and Miyako are both investigating something. The door to the room upstairs opens for a second time, catching Yamato’s attention, especially when Hibiki walks down the hall, carrying the little boy easily. Standing up, Yamato waits at the bottom of the stairs, watching them avidly as Hibiki carefully makes his way down the stairs with Sawada-kun in his arms.

“Well, there he is! The boy of the hour!” Kujou chirps, skipping over to where Yamato stands. Giving her a look of distaste at the lack of personal space, Yamato makes sure to pull Hibiki to him and then take a purposeful step away from Kujou. Ignoring the look of displeasure Yamato gives her, Kujou leans down to look at Sawada-kun in the face.

“Hey there, little guy. The name’s Kujou Hinoka, but you can call me Auntie or Hina-obasan,” she introduces herself, practically beaming when Sawada-kun blinks up at her.

“I’m Sawada Tsunayoshi, but I like Tsuna more,” he replies softly, burying his face into Hibiki’s shoulder at the delighted laugh Kujou lets out.

“Whoa! He’s tiny,” Akie comments from the sofa, looking up from the phone that he’s been using to text his wife. Hibiki huffs, shaking his head with an amused smile while Yamato gives Akie an unimpressed look. Sawada-kun squeaks against Hibiki’s shoulder, clinging tightly to his button up shirt.

“Um, maybe we should back off. He seems pretty shy,” Nitta points out while Shijima pipes in with, “C’mon, guys. Let the kid breath and meet everyone on his own.” With a soft giggle, Kujou backs off, letting Sawada-kun relax some against Hibiki’s shoulder.

“Hey, Tsuna. This is my husband, Hotsuin Yamato,” Hibiki offers softly, turning enough for Yamato to actually see Sawada-kun. The little boy raises his hand and waves shyly, getting a nod in return from Yamato. Hibiki smiles softly, looking up at Yamato nervously. Immediately, Yamato knows he’s helpless to his husband, knows that they would adopt Sawada-kun should no family come for the boy.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sawada-kun,” Yamato greets, watching as the little boy looks at him in confused wonder, taking in his pale hair, eyes, and complexion. He swears he sees a glint of orange in those large brown eyes as Sawada-kun looks at him.

“Hotsuin-san, Hotsuin-san,” Sawada-kun hisses softly, tugging gently at Hibiki’s shaggy hair. Indulgent, Hibiki leans his head toward the little boy, who loudly whispers, “He’s really pretty.” Yamato feels himself flush at the praise while Kujou, Nitta, and Shijima laugh.

“What I miss? What’s so funny?” Ban demands to know while Akie wanders over. Sawada-kun squeaks again, burring his face back into Hibiki’s shoulder.

“Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks I have the prettiest husband,” Hibiki tells them, getting a scowl from Yamato. Hibiki gives him the smile that always gets him off the hook, that always makes Yamato’s heart clench and makes him feel very young.

“Are you idiots done? I wanna see the kid,” Wakui snaps, leaving the kitchen. Sawada-kun whimpers at the aggressive tone Wakui took, curling in on himself and against Hibiki. Ban spins around and swings at Wakui, who dodges, hissing, “Don’t scare him, you dolt!” She spins quickly around, cooing softly at the boy, “Don’t pay attention to him. He’s a big ol’ meanie, doo-doo head.”

“Fucking really?” Wakui intones, looking completely unimpressed. He yelps when Kujou swats him upside the head, scolding, “Don’t curse in front of the boy.”

“Hello, Sawada-kun. Would you like some chawanmushi?” Torii asks, startling everyone as he holds the small bowl up to Sawada-kun. The little boy looks as baffled as Yamato feels every time Torii offers him a bowl as well. Hibiki chuckles softly, shaking his head in amusement.

“Jungo, how about we let everyone introduce themselves before we eat,” Hibiki offers. Torii perks up at that, quietly admitting, “That makes sense.”

“Welp, I’mma go first, after Hinako practically threw herself at him,” Shijima teases, ducking under a playful slap from Kujou. Straightening up, he turns to Sawada-kun and bows respectfully, “I’m Shijima Daichi. If you want, you can call me Daichi or Dai-ojisan.” Sawada-kun blinks and nods, resting his head against Hibiki’s neck while Nitta steps forward.

“Hello, I’m Nitta Io, but you can call me Io-obasan,” Nitta offers softly, smiling gently as Sawada-kun shyly peeks up at her. Ban hops up excitedly, clinging to Torii’s arm as she chirps, “I’m Ban Airi, or Auntie Airi, and this is Torii Jungo, my boyfriend, so he’s Uncle Jungo.” Sawada-kun blinks, raising his head a little to nod toward them, getting a nod back from Torii before the man offers Sawada-kun chawanmushi again. Blinking owlishly at Torii, Sawada-kun shyly accepts the food, getting a fond laugh from Hibiki, before he takes the bowl and sets in on the table for Sawada-kun to eat later. The door opens, signaling the arrival of Kuriki, Sako, and Kanno.

“Oh, well, lookie here,” Kanno intones, striding straight up to Hibiki and Sawada-kun, ignoring Yamato’s growl of annoyance. Sawada-kun squeaks again, once again burying his face into Hibiki’s shoulder, getting a pout from Kanno.

“Hey, no need for that,” Kanno huffs, crossing her arms, while Sako sighs and shakes her head fondly.

“Is he okay?” Kuruki asks, stepping around Kanno to look at Sawada-kun, who seems determined to hide from Kanno and everyone else. Hibiki chuckles, petting Sawada-kun’s back soothingly as Sako pulls Kanno away from the child, rolling her eyes in fond exasperation at her scientifically minded girlfriend.

“I think he’s a little overwhelmed,” Hibiki offers as Kuriki softly taps Sawada-kun’s shoulder, waiting patiently for the child to peek back at him.

“Hello, Sawada-kun. I’m Kuriki Ronaldo, it’s nice to meet you,” he offers. Sawada-kun blinks and nods at him, flinching when Wakui yells, “Get the hell away from me, you dumbass!”

“But, you need to introduce yourself to Sawada-kun,” Torii insists while Sako sighs heavily and Yanagiya enters the house.

“My, it’s awfully lively today,” she giggles, taking off her shoes. Sawada-kun perks up at her voice, peeking around Hibiki’s shoulder to see Yanagiya.

“Otome-sensei!” he chirps, perking up and leaning awkwardly in Hibiki’s arms, worrying both Hibiki and Yamato that he may fall. Yanagiya blinks before giggling again, striding over to Hibiki to ruffle Sawada-kun’s hair.

“My, I knew the little boy Hibiki-kun is housing was named Sawada-kun, but I didn’t realize it was you, Tsuna-kun,” she offers softly, laughing when Sawada-kun tries to fix his hair.

“You know him, Doc?” Wakui asks, avoiding Torii’s hands as he tries to grab the boxer to hold still. Yanagiya hums and nods, looking Sawada-kun over despite him still being in Hibiki’s arms.

“I’m one of the doctors that work at the office Nana-san took Tsuna-kun to get his checkups. Although, something weird happened recently,” Yanagiya explains, pulling back with a thoughtful look on her face. Hibiki shifts Tsuna in his arms, looking at her curiously.

“What do you mean, Otome?” he asks, looking concerned at the shift in tone with her second sentence. Yanagiya shakes her head, frowning.

“Well, a day or two before yesterday, Nana-san brought Tsuna-kun in because of a very sudden change in him. However, as soon as a doctor stepped into the room with him, they immediately left, complaining about him and how he’s something to be reviled. When I went in there, all I got was a significantly clumsier Tsuna-kun and a worried Nana-san. I don’t know what caused it either,” Yanagiya explains with a shake of her head. Before anyone else can ask another question or offer an idea about what may have caused the issues, Al Saiduq and Miyako enter the house. His “twin” rushes in excitedly only to stop and look confused and scared, startling everyone in the room.

“Miyako? What’s wrong?” Hibiki asks, taking a step forward only to stop when she scrambles back and away from him and Sawada-kun. Al Saiduq enters the room, initially looking just as confused as everyone else at Miyako’s reaction, before turning to Hibiki and Sawada-kun. His expression shifts to livid disgust, scaring Sawada-kun while Hibiki takes a step back in surprise. Yamato moves in front of his husband, demanding, “What’s going on?”

“Someone sealed the Little One’s light,” Al Saiduq answers with a snarl, his human form levitating easily with his power. Immediately, everyone reaches for their phones, ready to fight if a demon appears. Hibiki takes a deep breath, holds it, then releases it.

“How about you explain what you mean, Saiduq,” Hibiki requests, clinging protectively to Sawada-kun. Yamato nods, already prepared to fight and protect his husband and the child they want to adopt.


	3. Unlocking Flames

Tsuna sits on the couch between Hotsuin-san and Hotsuin-san, watching as the man that the pretty Hotsuin-san called ‘Saiduq’ calms down the pretty lady who came in before ‘Saiduq’.

“Can you please explain what you meant by Sawada-kun’s light being sealed,” the nice Hotsuin-san asks, petting his hair soothingly. Tsuna leans against him contently, looking around the room at all the people who introduced themselves earlier.

“Humans gained an ability from beings Polaris originally created before wiping most of them out to be replaced with the humans. This ability is actually available for all humans, but certain sects have easier times to unlock the ability than others,” ‘Saiduq’ explains, sitting in front of the group. The lanky man in a suit does the weird laugh, shaking his head.

“Whoa there, Angy. You mean there’s something beyond the demons? Whoo, that’s news,” the lanky man laughs, shifting in his seat. The pretty Hotsuin-san gives the man an unimpressed look while the scary lady in the white coat hums.

“You’re talking about Flames, correct?” she asks. ‘Saiduq’ nods, getting another hum from the lady. Auntie Airi leans forward, frowning at the lady in confusion.

“What do you mean, Fumi? Why are you talking about flames,” she demands, scowling at the older lady. The lady huffs, rolling her eyes in irritation before flicking Auntie Airi on the forehead.

“Well, Flames, with a capital ‘f’, is a manifestation of one’s will. It has multiple subcategories, each one “lead” by one type of Flame leading the other six types of Flame. JP’s has been looking into how exactly the Flames work outside of will, however, the Italian Mafia has been getting in the way for years. With a few Flame users of our own, we aren’t completely in the dark as to how Flames work,” she explains, pulling out a laptop and pulling up some sort of chart. Tsuna peers over her shoulder, gasping and pointing at the familiar orange flame.

“That’s mine! That one!” he cries, pointing at the orange flame, surprising the lady. She glares at him, causing Tsuna to curl in on himself, before turning back to her laptop, typing something in that brings the orange flame up with a small box full of writing. Humming, she types more in before turning to face Tsuna.

“So, you’re saying that this orange Flame is yours,” she starts, ignoring the looks all the other adults are giving her. Tsuna swallows at the attention, but nods. Humming, she types some more before looking up at ‘Saiduq’ with a frown.

“Is there a way to undo the seal? Preferably before any damage the seal has done becomes permanent,” she asks, startling all the adults around Tsuna. They all started yelling and snapping, Otome-sensei trying to calm some people down while Hotsuin-san sits beside him, lost in thought. Tsuna flinches, curling against Hotsuin-san’s side as his husband stops looking pretty and looks really scary, yelling at one of the other adults. Suddenly, Hotsuin-san pulls Tsuna onto his lap and rests his head against his chest, letting Tsuna listen to the rhythm of his heart.

“Enough,” Hotsuin-san snaps, startling everyone else into silence. Tsuna blinks, shifting his head to look up at Hotsuin-san. His blue eyes are really hard as he looks at all the other adults, his face blank even as the quiet part of Tsuna whispers that Hotsuin-san is angry at whoever sealed Tsuna.

“Let’s focus on unsealing Tsuna first. After he’s safe, then we can ask about what Fumi meant by damage,” he intones, petting Tsuna’s hair softly. The adults mumble in agreement before ‘Saiduq’ kneels in front of Tsuna with a smile.

“Take a deep breath, Little One. Remember what you felt like before,” he tells Tsuna. Listening, he closes his eyes and remembers, the warmth that felt like it went through his whole body. He feels gentle fingers brush his forehead before a wave of warmth crashes through him. Snapping his eyes open, Tsuna looks around the room, amazed by the things he missed earlier, like the pretty details near the floor and ceiling or the soft feeling of Hotsuin-san’s shirt.

“Well, we now know that he’s a pure Sky,” the lady comments, confusing Tsuna while the other adults look at his forehead in surprise or mild interest. Hotsuin-san pets his hair again, coaxing Tsuna back against his chest. Upon resting his head against Hotsuin-san’s chest, Tsuna realizes how tired he feels from ‘Saiduq’ undoing the seal on his warmth. He drifts off to sleep as the adults talk around him.

* * *

Taking Sawada-kun back to the room he woke up in, Hibiki takes another deep breath as he tries to control his rage. This child needs him calm and clear head to help fix what ever the seal destroyed, and he can’t do that when he’s enraged. Leaving the room, he returns down to the living room, where everyone is stewing in their anger. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Hibiki walks over to Fumi, peeking at her laptop.

“Have you figured out who could have put that seal on Sawada-kun?” Hibiki asks, settling beside her on the couch. Fumi grunts, her fingers flying over the keyboard of her laptop as screens and windows open and close rapidly on the screen. A deep scowl crosses her face as she skims information from one window while applying that information to another window.

“I think I have, but you’re not going to like it,” she states, ignoring Airi yelping. Hibiki looks up and blinks at the bright red flame that Airi tries to shake off or out, much to the amusement of Hinako and Joe. Smiling slightly, Hibiki shakes his head and looks back at her laptop, his amusement dropping deep into his stomach as two photos show a pair of men smiling at the camera. One is Vongola Timoteo, an Italian man who heads the Vongola famiglia, both the Mafia and public front, but his anger and disgust is aimed at the other man. Sawada Iemitsu, Sawada-kun’s father.

“What,” he intones, barely seeing Airi jump as green electricity crackles around her arm. Fumi huffs, typing in a command to show a hidden camera that peers into the backyard of the house Sawada-kun once lived in. The men stand outside when something happens that causes Sawada-kun to activate his Sky Flames. The men then turn to Sawada-kun and Vongola bent down with glowing fingers, touching Sawada-kun’s forehead. Immediately, Sawada-kun’s Sky Flames sputtered out and he collapsed. The whole time, Sawada-san just stood by, not even trying to do anything to stop the man he worked for.

“So, we have a few options on how to handle this,” Fumi continues, pulling up and closing windows quickly and efficiently. Hibiki hums and nods, glancing up at Hinako jumping when Indigo flames appeared on her scarf while she had been laughing at the sputtering, flustered Airi.

“First, we can completely prevent them from ever entering Japan ever again. We have the sway and the man power to do it easily. Second, we can be more focused, preventing them from entering Namimori or being unable to speak to Sawada-kun ever again. Third, we could simply let them go about their lives and hit them with all the punishment when they try to get in contact with Sawada-kun. Personally, I’m leaning toward the third one,” Fumi explains easily as Jungo tries to pat out the flames only to ignite in blue flames himself. Yamato sighs off to the side, rubbing his temples while Al Saiduq and Miyako watch the group unlock their Flames, Saiduq smiling idly while Miyako giggles at the flustered reactions.

“Has his father been contacted yet about what to do with Sawada-kun?” Hibiki asks, frowning as he remembers all the loop holes and processes that he and Yamato have to wait for before they can ask Sawada-kun if he wants to be adopted. Fumi huffs, pulling another window and scowling at the information.

“Not from a lack of trying. They can’t get in contact with him through the number on file, and they can’t get someone who speaks Japanese to give him a message. He has five days to return contact before the child services will let you foster, then adopt, Sawada-kun. If he has any complaint after that time, child services will point him your way,” Fumi explains, eventually closing her laptop and looking up. The two of them blink when Joe lights up with an indigo flame while Hinoka flails her now blue and indigo flame covered scarf around. Airi is yelling at Daichi, who is covered green electricity and blue flame, while Io squeaks in surprise as she lights up yellow and blue. Makoto sighs, summoning her own blue and red flames, while Keita flicks his fingers through four different colors, looking victorious.

“Everyone, calm down!” Makoto commands, releasing a large amount of blue flames through the room. Hibiki’s eyebrows shoot up as everyone immediately settles down. Huffing, Makoto crosses her arms while looking over everyone.

“Now, I know most of you are just accessing the Flames, however, please be responsible with your Flames. As you don’t know what your Flame is, what it does, or how to control it, please don’t use your Flame until we can tell you exactly what it does and how to use it,” Makoto requests. Hibiki stands while Yamato nods and steps forward.

“Exactly right, Agent Sako. JP’s will create a pamphlet for you all to get the basics of Flames down. Once you understand the basics, then we can help you figure out what exactly you can do with them,” Yamato informs them, completely professional. Daichi, once he puts out the electricity, sighs and nods tiredly.

“At least I get why Sawada-kun passed out when his Flame-thing lit up. That’s exhausting,” he sighs, drooping over onto Io. She giggles, despite her own exhaustion showing on her face, while Hinoka yawns and stretches.

“Well, I’mma go take a nap before finishing up the rest of that paperwork for our studio,” Hinako tells them, heading over to the door with a wave. Airi stumbles after Hinako while dragging her tired boyfriend after her, waving idly over her shoulder. Makoto bows and drags Fumi out of the house, followed closely by Ronaldo.

“If it’s alright, I would like to look over Tsuna-kun tomorrow to make sure his Flames didn’t hurt him,” Otome requests as Joe leaves with a wave, mumbling something about making sure his wife is okay. Hibiki smiles, glad that he has another doctor he knows he can trust to do her job.

“Please. If we get to adopt Sawada-kun, can I please have his health file as well? No offence to you, but I’d like to know his baseline health myself instead of relying on you and your fellow doctors only,” Hibiki requests. Otome laughs, waving away his worry as Miyako drags Keita out of the mansion while scolding his recklessness at trying to use all his Flames at the same time with nothing to channel the Flames safely through. The boxer grumbles angrily as he trudges after the younger Hotsuin sibling.

“I understand. In the past world, when I had Koharu, I requested the same thing from her doctor after I adopted her. Admittedly, they requested evidence that I was the doctor I claimed to be before I got the file. Just make sure to bring that evidence and I’ll make sure that the other doctors know,” Otome agrees easily, waving as she turns and leaves the mansion as well. Hibiki sighs, rubbing at his temples as a headache starts to come through.

“Hibiki, are you okay?” Yamato asks, stepping toward his husband, hesitant as he usually is when it comes to emotions. Hibiki smiles, dropping his hand to twine his fingers between Yamato’s.

“I’m fine, just a headache. An aspirin should get rid of it,” he assures his husband, lifting their twined hands up to press a kiss on the back of Yamato’s hand. Hibiki grins as Yamato’s face burns a bright red, his eyes narrowing in embarrassment.

“There is a child in this house now,” Yamato hisses, his cheeks bright red. Hibiki laughs softly, letting go of Yamato’s hand to hold his hands up in surrender.

“Sorry, sorry,” Hibiki apologizes, laughing at the angry look he gets from Yamato. Settling into silence, Yamato sits down on the couch, pulling out his own laptop to work on somethings for JP’s. Hibiki sits down beside him, leaning his head on Yamato’s shoulder and closing his eyes, listening to the soft clatter of the keyboard. It slowly tappers off, confusing Hibiki enough for him to open his eyes again and look up. Yamato is looking at him curiously, a small frown on his face.

“What is it, Yama?” Hibiki asks, smiling at the startled flustered look he gets at the nickname. Yamato coughs, looking back at his laptop but not typing.

“I noticed you didn’t try to access your Flames with the others,” he starts, frowning at the open windows on his screen. Blinking, Hibiki realizes that his comment is correct.

“Huh. Yeah, I was more focused on talking with Fumi about what to do about Sawada-kun’s father and his boss. We think they may have been the ones to put the seal on him,” he explains, flinching at the snarl that comes from his husband before huffing a laugh, “Down boy.”

“I’m no dog, Hibiki. But, I take it you have a solution?” Yamato asks. Hibiki hums in reply.

“We’re going to wait until Sawada-kun’s father finally answers the child service calls before going further. If we get to adopt Sawada-kun, we’ll play the waiting game, waiting until they try to get in contact with Sawada-kun before springing the restriction orders on them and throw them under the bus for potential Mafia ties,” Hibiki explains, laughing when Yamato turns and presses multiple kisses all over Hibiki’s face.

“That sounds brilliant, Hibiki. Let them think they have the upper hand before snapping the trap shut,” Yamato praises, pressing a kiss straight on his mouth. Hibiki laughs again, pressing back against his mouth happily. They part with small laughs and soft smiles, content to sit beside each other peacefully. Yamato pauses as he works before huffing a laugh. Curiously, Hibiki looks up at his husband.

“I almost forgot why I started speaking with you. Would you like to access your Flame?” Yamato asks. Hibiki blinks before smiling.

“Sure, let’s try,” he agrees, turning to face Yamato. Setting the laptop onto the coffee table before the couch, Yamato takes Hibiki’s hands and looks him in the eye.

“Take a deep breath and clear your mind,” he instructs. Hibiki closes his eyes and complies, waiting for the next step. His mouth twitches at the feeling of Yamato’s thumbs gently stroking the backs of his hands.

“Feel out the warmth inside you and tug on it,” Yamato finally continues. Hibiki nods minutely, feeling out the warmth that Yamato described. Upon finding it, Hibiki mentally pulled, jumping at the noise his husband makes. Opening his eyes to look at Yamato, Hibiki blinks at the lust-struck look he receives from his husband, not even noticing the bright orange flame appearing on his forehead.

“Yamato?” he pries, yelping when Yamato practically jumps him, growling and nipping at his mouth. Yamato’s hands crawl under his button up shirt as his mouth nips and sucks at Hibiki’s neck.

“No wonder I joined you so willingly,” he chuckles, confusing Hibiki before diving back down to Hibiki’s shoulder and neck.

“There is a child in this house!” Hibiki reminds Yamato before succumbing to the gentle torture his husband seems avid on giving him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, most of the group has multiple flames. Here's a list for explanation.  
> Hibiki: Sky   
> Yamato: Cloud  
> Daichi: Lightening/Rain  
> Io: Sun/Rain  
> Makoto: Rain/Storm  
> Joe: Mist/Sun  
> Hinako: Mist/Rain  
> Keita: Cloud/Storm/Sun/Lightening  
> Airi: Storm/Lightening  
> Fumi: Mist/Sun  
> Jungo: Rain/Sun  
> Otome: Sun/Rain  
> Ronaldo: Lightening/Storm  
> Alcor/Al Saiduq: “Null”/All  
> Miyako: “Null”/All  
> I'll explain Alcor and Miyako's flames in a later chapter.


	4. Welcome to the Family

Tsuna wakes up in the room he’s become used to over the past week, blinking blearily at the desk near his bed, covered in papers and notebooks that Yamato-san gave him. He rubs at his eyes drowsily, clutching the lion doll Hibiki-san picked up for him. Sliding out of the bed, Tsuna wanders out of the room, stumbling tiredly through the hallway.

“Mornin’ sunshine,” the tall man, Joe, greets him with, ruffling his hair. Tsuna groans, leaning against the man for support while closing his eyes. Joe laughs, picking up Tsuna before walking down the stairs, giving Tsuna time to rub the sleep from his eyes. Entering the kitchen, Tsuna blinks at a pretty, unfamiliar lady sitting at the table, chatting with Hibiki-san as he cooks breakfast.

“Oh! Is this Sawada-kun? Hello there,” she coos at him, standing up and walking over to Joe and Tsuna. He blinks before squeaking and hiding his face in Joe’s shoulder, feeling his face burn. Hibiki-san laughs while the lady whines a little, something about how she can’t see his cute face.

“C’mon Babe, give the kid some space,” Joe insists with a laugh, turning away from the pretty lady as she tries to look at Tsuna. She huffs and stomps her foot, before heading back to the table. Cautiously, Tsuna peeks up from Joe’s shoulder only to perk up when Hibiki-san sets a bowl of Tamago Kake Gohan down at the seat he has claimed during his stay in the Hotsuin couple’s mansion. Pushing against Joe, Tsuna waits impatiently to be put down before running over to the seat, clamoring up the chair to bounce happily in his seat while a small bowl of miso and a plate with salmon join the bowl.

“Oh my gosh, that was so cute!” the lady squeals softly, clapping her hands happily. Tsuna blushes a little while Hibiki-san points at her with his cooking chopsticks.

“Yui-san, I am not afraid to kick your butt if you keep flustering Tsuna-kun,” Hibiki-san warns, although his smile tells Tsuna that he’s teasing. Yui-san huffs and crosses her arms, trying to seem angry, only to crumble into giggles as Joe leans down and peppers her cheeks with kisses. Tsuna crinkles his nose, but decides to focus more on his food. He has another week of summer vacation before he has to go back to preschool. Pausing, Tsuna feels his stomach drop as he remembers Momma promising that they would go school shopping this coming up week. His breakfast turns tasteless as he remembers how Momma handed him to Hibiki-san when he entered their burning house.

“Alrighty, guys! I have news!” Dai-ojisan calls as he enters the house, snapping Tsuna from his memories. Yui-san and Joe both look over curiously while Hibiki-san looks over nervously, wiping off his hands on a towel as Dai-ojisan skids to a stop in the kitchen with a folder.

“So, currently and officially, Sawada-kun is up for fostering and adoption,” Dai-ojisan declares, getting a confused look from Tsuna. Hibiki-san blinks then looks relieved while Joe laughed happily. Tsuna blinks, looking between the three in confusion.

“What’s that mean?” Tsuna asks, watching as the three men freeze. Dai-ojisan blinks back at him while Joe hummed, obviously trying to figure out how to explain. Hibiki-san, however, froze and paled, mumbling to himself about something being stupid.

“Tsuna, what do you think about your birth father? The man your momma was married to?” Hibiki-san asks slowly, watching him with eyes that flash orange. Tsuna cocks his head and thinks, scrunching up his nose at the memory of the loud man with yellow hair, who smelled bad and drank from the weird bottles.

“I don’t like him,” Tsuna declares with a nod, watching as Hibiki-san thinks before trying to continue.

“What Daichi meant when he came in, is that your father didn’t want you for some reason. So, someone else can take you to live with them,” Hibiki-san explains carefully, watching Tsuna’s reaction. Tsuna freezes at being told that his father didn’t want him, which didn’t match with how the man behaved when he visited them the week before last. Blinking back tears, Tsuna hiccups as his tummy drops and his heart hurts at the declaration.

“Is it because I got broken?” he asks, looking at Hibiki-san for answers. The man rushes over to him, picking him up and bouncing him in his arms.

“Oh, no. Shh. It’s okay, Tsuna-kun. He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on. Shh,” Hibiki-san softly shushes, rubbing at Tsuna’s back. Tsuna sniffs and hiccups as he calms down, still hurt at how he’s been thrown away, but Hibiki-san is so kind and feels so safe that Tsuna can calm himself. Once calm, Tsuna shifts to look up at Hibiki-san, barely noticing how Joe, Yui-san, and Dai-ojisan had all left the room and mansion.

“Can I stay with you and Yamato-san? Even though I was broken?” Tsuna asks softly, scared that he was going to be denied, despite the voice in his head telling him that Hibiki-san would love him. Hibiki-san’s face softens, and he holds Tsuna close to him, petting his hair and back soothingly.

“Of course you can, Tsuna-kun. We were going to ask if you wanted to stay with us, in fact. Only if you want to,” Hibiki-san tells him, smiling nicely. Tsuna blinks at him, at the nice blue eyes and the nice smile, listening as that orange voice quietly tells him that Hibiki-san means it.

“I want to,” Tsuna tells Hibiki-san, feeling so happy at the bright smile on the man’s face.

* * *

Yamato arrives to a surprisingly silent mansion, no sound of loud yelling or laughter that he has come to associate with his- Hibiki’s really- friends. Pausing, he listens for anything before hearing soft giggles coming from the living room. Entering the room, he sees what Hibiki explained to him as being a ‘pillow fort’ during a stay at home date they had. Quietly, he peeks into the pillow fort and doesn’t stop the smile from crossing his face. Tsuna-kun sits in Hibiki’s lap, giggling at something in the book they’re reading.

“What seems to be so funny?” Yamato asks, smiling at how happy Tsuna-kun seems. Tsuna-kun jumps out of surprise while Hibiki smiles up at his husband.

“Hey, Yamato. We’re reading Minna Unchi and I’m acting like a five year old,” Hibiki answers, grinning brightly. Yamato huffs and rolls his eyes, shaking his head at his husband’s immaturity, when Tsuna-kun pokes at Yamato’s shin.

“Um, Yamato-san? Hibiki-san said that you want to adopt me with him. Can you please do it?” Tsuna-kun requests. Blinking briefly, Yamato chuckles and ruffles Tsuna-kun’s hair.

“Of course, Tsuna-kun,” Yamato assures him. Tsuna-kun beams up at him before turning back on Hibiki’s lap, reading the book aloud, to Hibiki’s amusement and Yamato’s exasperated amusement.

“Grown-ups poop. Children poop too,” he reads, missing the happy look Hibiki sends Yamato. Sighing, Yamato settles nearby, pulling out a laptop and finishing up the adoption papers that he needs to send to Child Services tomorrow. Once those papers are done, he starts sorting through some information Kuruki sent him about some demons appearing over in the Niigata prefecture, his mouth twitching into a smirk at each giggle from Tsuna-kun and each laugh from Hibiki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo... I wanted Tsuna to be reading a Japanese picture book when I found out that the book 'Everybody Poops' is actually Japnese in origin. Given how much of a troll Hibiki can be in game, I felt it was too good to pass up.


	5. Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha... Here comes the most aggressive little fucker in all of Hitman Reborn, Hibari!

Tsuna walks down the street, skipping occasionally, while humming a tune to himself. Hibiki-san- who offered to be called Papa- and Auntie Airi took him shopping for his new school supplies, which he got to use today. Giggling happily, Tsuna shifts his backpack easily as he hurries toward Namimori elementary, where Hibiki-san -Papa- helps out when his office isn’t busy.

“Oi, kid! I need to ask you something!” a man calls, grabbing Tsuna by the arm. Yelping, Tsuna looks up at the man in fear. He has scars crossing his face and his nose is crooked, a mean scowl on his face.

“I’m looking for Sawada Tsunayoshi. I’m a… friend of his father,” The man tells Tsuna, grinning in what the man probably thought was kindness, but it just reminded Tsuna of a wolf. Shaking his head, Tsuna tries to tug his arm out of the man’s grip. Another scowl crosses the man’s face and he shakes Tsuna harshly, snapping, “Look, just tell me where the little shit is and I’ll let you go.”

“You’re hurting me,” Tsuna squeaks, listening as his Flame silently tells him to not tell the man that he used to be Sawada Tsunayoshi. The man snarls, shaking Tsuna again when a growl sounds near them. Tsuna turns and blinks his tears out of his eyes at the sight of an older boy.

The boy is obviously a Hibari, with his pale complexion and royal features. His stance screams bloodlust and disgust at the man currently holding Tsuna, metal weapons pressing against his arms that he thinks he remembers Makoto pointing out and calling tonfas.

“What are you doing with Hotsuin’s son, Herbivore?” he growls, demanding an answer. The man pales and sputters, letting go of Tsuna and taking a step back.

“I-I didn’t realize Hotsuin h-had a kid. I’m looking for Sawada Tsunayoshi,” the man tries to explain. The Hibari narrows his eyes at the man as Tsuna scrambles to hide behind the older boy.

“Why?” he orders, sneering at the man. The man sputters again, snarling, “It’s none of your business, boy!”

“It’s my business as you are in my territory, Herbivore,” the Hibari snaps back, baring his teeth. The man growls and takes a swing at the older boy. Tsuna flinches at the sound of metal meeting flesh before watching in awe as the Hibari takes down the man easily. Once the man is unconscious and groaning, the older boy pulls out a flip-phone, opening it with both hands, and scowling as he types in a number. He puts the phone to his ear and makes some orders before closing the phone and turning back to Tsuna. Before the other boy could say or do anything, Tsuna blurts out, “You’re pretty!”

* * *

Kyouya blinks as Hotsuin’s new son blurts out those words, watching in mild fascination as a blush crawls up the boy’s face. It’s obvious that the Little Animal didn’t mean to say that out loud, although Kyouya would be lying if he didn’t find it somewhat flattering. Especially when all the other Carnivores he knows would be considered pretty as well.

“Thank you,” he intones, turning his attention back to the road. The fluffy boy fidgets before softly tugging on his sleeve.

“Um, Cloud-san?” he asks, startling Kyouya a little. He knows that his family’s flame is a Cloud (according to his not-baby-carnivore-uncle), but nothing else about him really seems like what a child of the Little Animal’s age would consider a cloud.

“What did you just call me?” Kyouya demands, wincing at the tears that appeared in the smaller boy’s eyes, not looking forward to dealing with his loud sobbing. Instead of crying like Kyouya expected, the Little Animal sniffles and rubs at his eyes before looking back up at him.

“You feel like a Cloud,” the fluffy boy explains, giving Kyouya a wobbly, shy smile. Cocking his head to the side, Kyouya looks at the Little Animal carefully, looking for something to indicate the Little Animal for being ‘Active’. However, the smaller boy just looks up at him shyly, no sign of the Flames, leaving Kyouya to be somewhat confused before just accepting the boy’s assessment. After a pause for thought, Kyouya decides the fluffy boy’s title is acceptable, nodding. The boy seems to take his nod as the command to continue that it was, saying, “Can you help me find Papa? I know he’s in there, but I don’t know where.” Kyouya clicks his tongue in thought. While he wants to wait for his mother’s assistants to come pick up the Herbivore trying to be a Carnivore, Kyouya also knows that the Little Animal could potentially cause some issues with the herd by wandering around the school on his own, even if it is after hours with only a few clubs still meeting. Sighing, Kyouya nods to the fluffy boy.

“Come, Little Animal. I’ll take you to your father,” Kyouya offers, reluctantly holding out his hand to properly lead the Little Animal. The fluffy younger boy perks up, grabbing Kyouya’s hand.

“Thank you, Cloud-san!” the boy practically cheers, jumping excitedly. Kyouya feels his face start to burn from how seemingly bright the Little Animal’s smile is, causing him to turn away quickly to lead the fluffy boy into the school. Easily finding the school’s infirmary, he knocks on the door before opening it. Hotsuin-sensei looks up from where he was looking over one of the Herbivores Kyouya had to discipline this morning.

“Hello Hibari-kun. What can I do to help you?” Hotsuin-sensei asks. Instead of answering, Kyouya steps to the side, allowing the Little Animal to rush into the room, throwing himself against Hotsuin-sensei’s legs.

“Papa, Papa, Papa! There was a scary man asking me if I knew me, but I didn’t answer. Then Cloud-san fought him and now here I am!” the fluffy boy explains rapidly, bouncing excitedly. Hotsuin-sensei smiles down at his son while raising an eyebrow at Kyouya. Shrugging, Kyouya turns and leaves quickly, his face burning again when he hears the Little Animal exclaim that he’s pretty once again. Shaking his head, Kyouya heads back to where the unconscious man is still laying. Waiting impatiently, Kyouya eventually hears a car pulling up to the school. Turning to look at the car, Kyouya watches as his mother steps out of the car.

“Kyouya, what is this?” she demands, sneering down at the man that her subordinates are dragging up. Clicking his tongue in disgust at the still unconscious man, Kyouya turns to his mother with proper posture.

“This Herbivore was harassing Hotsuin’s son while demanding to find Sawada Tsunayoshi,” he explains, crossing his arms. His mother hums, her eyes cutting over to the man’s limp body as he’s dragged into the car.

“Keep a close eye to Hotsuin’s little boy, Kyouya. He’s important enough that these Herbivores are trying to either take him or kill him,” his mother orders. Kyouya nods in understanding, watching as his mother’s subordinates make sure the man won’t wake until they arrive at either the police station or the warehouse, which ever one they decide to use. His mother gives him an awkward side hug, which he is reluctant to return (physical affection of this sort is mutually uncomfortable for both him and his mother. However, both Hotsuin-sensei and Yanagiya-sensei recommended that they have some form of physical affection that isn’t sparing. So, side hugs) before stepping away. He watches his mother step back into the car and drive off, waiting until he can no longer see the vehicle before heading back into his school.

* * *

Yamato is laying his head on Hibiki’s lap, working through the reports he got from Sako today while Tsuna-kun is sitting at the coffee table in front of their couch, doodling on some spare paper. Earlier that day, while working at the JP’s branch in Tokyo, he got a call from Hibari Aia about a potential Mafia threat coming into Namimori. From what she was willing to tell him over the phone, it appears that Tsuna-kun’s sperm donor is within the upper echelons of Italy’s mafia and a small family was hoping to use Tsuna-kun as some sort of bargaining chip against him. The doorbell rings, startling the three from their peaceful work.

“Yamato, were you expecting anyone?” Hibiki asks, standing up while Tsuna-kun carefully rises from the floor. Sighing, Yamato closes his laptop and sits up, already missing his lap pillow.

“Yes, the Hibaris should be coming with more information about the man who tried to kidnap Tsuna-kun today,” Yamato admits, standing up himself with a frown on his face. Tsuna-kun seems to perk up at the name of their visitors, hurrying over to the door and opening it eagerly, not even waiting for either of the men to catch up.

“Cloud-san! You came!” Tsuna-kun cheers, skipping around the adults and up to the Hibari heir to grab his hand, even though Yamato can tell he wanted to hug the older boy. Despite being uncomfortable, the Hibari heir nods solemnly to them while his mother looks on in amusement.

“Little Animal,” he says softly, looking at their clasped hands in mild frustration. Tsuna-kun hums happily, giving his hand a squeeze before letting go to turn to Hibiki.

“Papa, can we go to Keita-nii’s workout room? I think Cloud-san would like it!” Tsuna-kun requests earnestly, ignoring the bewildered look the Hibari heir is giving him.

“Don’t disturb anything until I get there, okay?” Hibiki warns, smiling indulgently at Tsuna-kun’s beaming smile and the Hibari heir’s look of interest. Tsuna-kun cheers happily before motioning at the Hibari heir to follow him. After getting a nod from his mother, the Hibari heir allows himself to be led by the younger boy. They wait until the boys are out of sight before Yamato straightens his back, turning to the Hibari matriarch.

“So, what information were you unable to tell us over the phone?” Yamato demands to know, watching as she straightens herself up with a severe frown on her face.

“Young Tsunayoshi is in grave danger,” she opens with, not even flinching at the enraged combination of Sky and Cloud flames. She nods toward the sitting room, set up near the living room for their arrival and Yamato nods, already his mind planning and re-planning ways to keep Tsuna-kun safe from whoever the Hibari clan will be pointing JP’s.

* * *

Tsuna skips up to the workout room Keita-nii uses when he’s visiting, and a fight is coming up. Waiting impatiently for Cloud-san to join him, Tsuna briefly wonders why Cloud-san and his family are here. His Flames whisper softly, _protect, safety, assure, plan_. Cocking his head to the side, Tsuna pieces the words together easily, with a frown on his face.

“They wanna keep me safe from the men, so they gotta plan,” Tsuna mumbles, cocking his head to the other side, feeling his Flames reply with a positive emotion.

“Little Animal.” Tsuna jumps and turns to Cloud-san, staring at him in surprise. Tsuna beams at Cloud-san, pushing open the door to Keita-nii’s workout room to run in.

“This is where Keita-nii practices for his fights! I can’t use anything yet, cause I’m not big enough to use them safely. But when I get big enough, I can learn to defend myself too!” Tsuna chirps excitedly. He doesn’t like the idea of fighting, but defending? Being able to protect people who love him, who accepted him when he was broken, who told him that they didn’t fix him? That they simply preformed Kintsugi on him to the best of their ability and they would help him heal? That excited him, the ability to even slightly return what they are doing for him. Cloud-san hums, looking around the room idly, before turning back to Tsuna with a smile that looked more like a bearing of teeth than anything.

“I can teach you somethings,” Cloud-san offers. Tsuna perks up, beaming at Cloud-san while hopping in place.

“Please, Cloud-san!” Tsuna asks, clapping his hands. Cloud-san’s grin shrinks to something small and real, awkwardly reaching out and patting Tsuna’s hair as if he’s never done it before.

“You can call me Kyouya, Little Animal,” Cloud-san tells Tsuna. Beaming, especially at the soft, curious brush of Kyouya’s Flame against his own, Tsuna replies earnestly with, “Then call me Tsuna!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... I may have a thing for childhood friends to lovers... Yep, it's pre1827. Please don't hate me, I just really like their dynamic.


	6. New School Friends Under a Sun

Kyoko has a love/hate relationship with her kindergarten class. She loves learning, playing and talking with Hana, and looking at the clothes her classmates wear to school. However, she hates most of the boys, who are nothing like her Oniisan. She hates how the other girls try to tell her how to behave. She hates how the teachers try to make her do things, insisting that they know best, like right now.

“No, Sasagawa-chan. You don’t want to play with them, go over to the girls. You want to play with them instead,” Sat­ō-sensei insists, ushering her away from the boys rough housing a little bit away from the playground. Huffing, Kyoko pouts up at Sat­ō-sensei, arguing, “I don’t want to play with the other girls, I wanna play with the boys.”

“But they’re too rough for you, Sasagawa-chan. You’ll get hurt,” Sat­ō-sensei tells her, sighing and shaking her head like Kyoko is being stupid. Frowning, Kyoko opens her mouth to argue more when a little boy walks up behind their teacher, tugging softly at her apron to get her attention.

“Sat­ō-sensei, are you mentally in-ca-pass-it-ated?” he asks, blinking up at the woman as she sputters, turning and crouching down to look at the boy as she demands, “Hotsuin-kun, what did you just ask?”

“I asked if you are mentally in-ca-pass-it-ated. But, since you had to ask me what I said, I guess I got the answer,” Hotsuin-kun sighs, shaking his fluffy brown hair out of his eyes. Kyoko blinks and cocks her head to the side while their teacher gapes at him. Stepping around Sat­ō-sensei, Hotsuin-kun smiles at Kyoko, holding out his hand for what she remembers her parents doing with their coworkers.

“I’m Hotsuin Tsunayoshi! But, you can call me Tsuna, if you want,” he tells Kyoko. Blinking in surprise, Kyoko beams back at him, grabbing his hand and shaking it up and down.

“I’m Sasagawa Kyoko. You can call me Kyoko, Tsuna-kun!” she introduces herself. Sat­ō-sensei snaps out of what ever she was doing, scowling down at Tsuna-kun.

“Hotsuin-kun! You shouldn’t say that to an adult!” she scolds. Kyoko watches as a look of disdain crosses Tsuna-kun’s face, his eyes reminding her of a handsome silver-haired man she and Hana saw scolding some people a few days ago.

“Are you Kyoko-chan or her family, Sat­ō-sensei?” he asks. Looking surprised, Sat­ō-sensei stutters out a no. Tsuna-kun hums and nods, looking up at their teacher with a cold stare before telling her, “Then you have no right to tell Kyoko-chan what she can and can’t do.” Sat­ō-sensei sputters, turning a funny red color that Kyoko knows will probably lead to Tsuna-kun getting yelled at and his parents getting called in. Without a second thought, Kyoko grabs his hand and drags him after her, lighting up when she sees Hana hiding under a tree far from the other kids.

“Hana!” she calls, waving her arm while pulling Tsuna-kun after her. Hana looks up from the book she’s reading, raising an eyebrow as Kyoko finally arrives with Tsuna-kun, both of them out of breath.

“Why did you bring this monkey over here with you?” Hana demands, closing her book with a snap. Kyoko smiles at Hana, attempting to look innocent to her friend. The look she gets in return tells her that her attempt at innocence didn’t work.

“Tsuna-kun told off Sat­ō-sensei for trying to make me play with the girls instead of the boys,” Kyoko tells her, gently pulling Tsuna-kun up enough for Hana to look at him. The more serious girl stands up and walks around Tsuna-kun, narrowing her eyes in thought before stopping in front of him.

“You told off Sat­ō-sensei?” Hana asks, looking at Tsuna-kun to see his reaction. He smiles at her bashfully, nodding mutely. Hana hums and smirks, getting a giggle from Kyoko. She knows her friend dislikes Sat­ō-sensei ever since the older woman insisted that Hana is too young to read _Kowai!_ , because it’s too scary according to the teacher.

“Alright, you’re not so bad, for a monkey,” Hana admits with a nod. Kyoko giggles again at the bewildered look Tsuna-kun gives Hana while her friend sits back down, motioning for them to sit down beside her. Kyoko settles happily on Hana’s right, smiling at Tsuna-kun’s hesitance before he shyly sits on Hana’s left. They peer over her shoulders as Hana reopens the book, reading out loud so they can all keep together.

* * *

Ryohei thinks Hotsuin-sensei is EXTREME, especially when he heard that Hotsuin-sensei adopted a little boy with his husband after the boy’s mother died. While sitting in front of Hotsuin-sensei as he wraps Ryohei’s ankle from when he twisted it trying to play soccer afterschool, he couldn’t hold back his questions.

“Who is he? How old is he? Is he EXTREME? Does he like sports? Do you think he’d spar with me? Can he be my friend?” Ryohei asks rapidly, bouncing a little while trying to keep his leg as still as possible for Hotsuin-sensei. The doctor chuckles softly, tightening the wrap carefully so that Ryohei can’t hurt it more, before looking up with a sparkle in his blue eyes.

“His name was Sawada Tsunayoshi, now it’s Hotsuin Tsunayoshi. He’s about five, so he’ll join this school next year. I’m not sure if he matches your definition of extreme, nor am I sure if he likes sports. He can’t spar yet, but he’s learning to defend himself. And I’m sure he would love to become your friend,” Hotsuin-sensei answers patiently, patting Ryohei’s knee before moving over to the clipboard. He starts to write something down when Hibari-kun slams open the door with a scowl.

“Hotsuin, Little Animal,” he growls, ignoring Ryohei as he storms over to Hotsuin-sensei. Blinking, Hotsuin-sensei looks up at the clock and frowns, making Ryohei turn and look at the clock too. It’s almost 4 o’clock and Ryohei realizes that he’s late for picking up Kyoko from preschool. Jumping up, Ryohei snaps forward in a deep bow to Hotsuin-sensei, who blinks at him in surprised amusement.

“Thank you for taking care of my ankle, Sensei! I need to pick up my little sister and Hana to the EXTREME!” Ryohei thanks happily. Hotsuin-sensei chuckles and shakes his head, gathering his bag and other necessities while Hibari-kun glares from the door way.

“They’re at Kogane no ko Hoikuen, right? I’ll be going there to pick up Tsuna, so how about you walk with me,” Hotsuin-sensei offers with a smile. Ryohei grins back at him and nods eagerly, bouncing on the ball of his uninjured foot. Grabbing his own bag, Ryohei limps excitedly after Hotsuin-sensei and Hibari-kun as they leave the school and its grounds. The walk to the preschool isn’t very long, maybe fifteen minutes at most, but his parents are always worried for Kyoko’s safety, so she isn’t allowed to walk to his school on her own, even with Hana. Finally arriving, Ryohei hops in front of the open gate, getting a laugh from Hotsuin-sensei and a growl from Hibari-kun. However, there is not little sister rushing him, no Hana rolling her eyes and scolding them for their recklessness. Blinking, Ryohei stands up in confusion while Hotsuin-sensei and Hibari-kun both join him at the gate.

“Well, then. Looks like something happened today,” Hotsuin-sensei comments, striding onto the school grounds. Ryohei looks at Hibari-kun for answers, only to be ignored as the other boy follows the doctor. Shrugging to himself, Ryohei follows them into the building, frowning as he hears a woman yelling at someone from his little sister’s class.

“…AND I DEMAND RESPECT!!” she yells when the three of them arrive at the door. Ryohei actively feels anger at the sight of his little sister and Hana hiding behind a little boy, who despite his obvious fear is still standing protectively in front of the girls.

“But, you don’t deserve it! You’ve done nothing but try to en-force what you think we should do. That’s not what a teacher or caretaker does!” the boy argues earnestly. The woman screams, grabbing the little boy by his hair and throwing him on the ground, pointing at him in anger.

“IT’S THAT ATTITUDE THAT LEAD TO YOUR MOM DYING!!” the woman shrieks. Hotsuin-sensei immediately stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, his blue eyes seeming to flash orange in his anger. While he wanted to watch Hotsuin-sensei lay into the woman, Ryohei is more concerned about the little boy, who curled into himself on the floor, while Kyoko crouches beside him and Hana glares at the woman.

“Hey there, little guy. Did you get hurt?” Ryohei asks, carefully crouching beside his sister to try and look over the boy. The boy blinks back tears, but shakes his head, holding out his arms to let them see there are no marks. Hibari-kun steps around Ryohei and sits down, pulling the boy into an awkward hug, to Ryohei’s surprise.

“Your mother loved you unconditionally, Little Animal,” Hibari-kun assures the younger boy, petting his fluffy brown hair. Hiccupping, the boy looks up at Hibari-kun with doe-like eyes before giving him a wobbly smile.

“I know,” he admits quietly, reaching around awkwardly to give Hibari-kun a hug. Ryohei’s eyebrows go up at how Hibari-kun is allowing someone to touch him. The dark-haired boy pats the smaller boy on the head, obviously uncomfortable but reluctant to hit him.

“Tsuna, come here,” Hotsuin-sensei calls, the woman being led away by some people Ryohei didn’t see coming into the school. The kid, Tsuna-kun apparently, rushes over to Hotsuin-sensei, almost bowling over the older man.

“Papa,” Tsuna-kun mumbles against Hotsuin-sensei’s legs, burying his against Hotsuin-sensei’s legs. Hotsuin-sensei crouches down and picks up Tsuna-kun, cradling the younger boy against his shoulder while Ryohei, Kyoko, and Hana crowd around him worriedly.

“Is he EXTREMELY okay?” Ryohei asks, holding Kyoko’s hand as she goes up on her tiptoes to pat Tsuna-kun on the back. Hotsuin-sensei smiles down at them reassuringly, jumping and turning when they hear the woman wail in pain. Hana clicks her tongue, huffing about angry monkeys, which Ryohei translates as Hibari-kun left to bite the lady to death.

“I’m okay,” Tsuna-kun quietly tells them, bringing their attention back to the little boy in Hotsuin-sensei’s arms. He clings to Hotsuin-sensei, although he peeks back to them and gives a shaky smile. Kyoko beams back up to him while Hana sighs in relief.

“If you guys would like, I can drop you off at your houses,” Hotsuin-sensei offers kindly. Ryohei perks up and nods, exclaiming, “That would be EXTREMELY nice, sir!”

“Um, excuse me,” Kyoko starts, looking up at Hotsuin-sensei with her eyes doing the widening/watering thing that Ryohei knows everyone (except maybe the Hibaris) are weak to, “If we get the okay from our parents, can we stay with Tsuna?” Hotsuin-sensei smiles at them softly, rubbing at Tsuna-kun’s back softly.

“Of course,” he agrees, turning to look over at Hibari-kun, who just reenters the room, “Hibari-kun, would you like to join this sleep over?” Ryohei perks up, hobbling over excitedly while Hibari-kun looks conflicted. Throwing an arm around Hibari-kun, Ryohei cheers, “Yeah! Join our EXTREME sleepover!”

“Remove your arm, Herbivore,” Hibari-kun growls, ducking under Ryohei’s arm, glaring at his classmate. The soft laughter from Tsuna-kun grabs Hibari-kun’s attention immediately, his normally frowning face softening when he looks up at the younger boy. Ryohei shares a look with Kyoko while Hana looks up at the ceiling for strength.

“I will join your sleepover, just no crowding,” Hibari-kun finally says, taking another step away from Ryohei while raising his tonfas, warry of his classmate. Despite his confused curiosity at the obvious affection between Hibari-kun and Tsuna-kun, Ryohei doesn’t stop his yell of “EXTREME!!” before barely dodging the attack to his head.

* * *

Miyako enters the Hotsuin mansion quietly, motioning for Al Saiduq to stay quiet due to the late time. She knows that Tsuna-kun has some friends over, from a text Hibiki-kun sent her earlier with a picture of the little group in question.

“Do not worry, I can be quiet,” Al Saiduq assures her softly, awkwardly patting her shoulder. Sighing, Miyako nods, creeping into the living room. Despite her plan to just pass through the room, Miyako pauses and inhales sharply, covering her mouth to prevent a squeal from escaping. Piled almost on top of each other, the kids sleep against each other, even Hibari-kun. Tsuna-kun rests his head on the Hibari heir while holding hands with the smaller girl. Said girl is curling against the white-haired boy, who is laying splayed underneath both girls. Miyako fumbles with her purse, pulling out her phone to take a picture of the kids. Al Saiduq looks at her in confusion, frowning when he’s shown the picture.

“I took it so I can show Nii-san and the others in the morning,” she whispers happily, finally continuing up the stairs. Al Saiduq hums, looking at the thick and thin bonds twining between all the kids, before heading up himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone tries to argue that the teacher was in the right to yell at Tsuna, here's the thing that I tried to explain.  
> 1) the woman was forcing her ideals on to her students, not the school's or the society's ideals, but her personal own  
> 2) she ignored the individualization of each student, trying to force them to be who they are not
> 
> However, Tsuna's not exactly in the right here either, with how he handled someone like the teacher, so... yeah...


	7. Field Trips to JP's

Ronaldo is prepared for many things. Apocalypses? He’s survived a few. Demonic fights? Easy. Delegation of a group to efficiently help as many people as possible? There’s a reason that JP’s works semipublicly now. However, he doesn’t know what to do with the group of kids blinking up at him.

“Um… Hi?” he says (not squeaks, dammit), waving awkwardly down at Tsuna-kun and his friends from his position on the upper landing. Tsuna-kun smiles shyly up at him, waving just as shyly, while the short haired girl waves rapidly at him. The long-haired girl glares up at him while the other boy jumps up with a cry.

“It’s EXTREMELY nice to meet you, sir! I’m Sasagawa Ryohei and this is my little sister, Sasagawa Kyoko!” he introduces with a bow. Ronaldo blinks at the rapid and loud introduction, not sure how to respond other than to nod.

“I’m Kurokawa Hana,” the girl with long hair introduces herself, obviously reluctant to actually speak to him, which Ronaldo can’t blame her for. He’s an older man, vaguely foreign looking due to mixed blood and the only one who seems to know him semi-personally is Tsuna-kun, who he only knows due to his adopted parents.

“I’m Kuriki Ronaldo. I work with Yamato-san,” he decides as his introduction, bowing politely to the kids. He hears a click of the tongue and soft giggles, before he stands upright again. Tsuna-kun shyly steps forward, fiddling with his shirt shyly.

“Um, Ron-ojisan?” Tsuna-kun begins, giggling at the angry sigh of “Joe,” Ronaldo huffs, fidgeting nervously. Crouching down, Ronaldo nods for the little boy to continue.

“C-can you take us to Da- Yamato-san’s work place? I-if it’s okay, I mean,” Tsuna-kun stumbles verbally, flushing at almost calling Yamato-san ‘Dad’. Smiling as kindly as he can, Ronaldo nods even as he mentally makes a reminder to tease Yamato-san about being ‘Dad’. Tsuna-kun beams before turning and ushering the other kids back into the living room to gather their things.

“Hopefully this is worth it,” Ronaldo comments quietly to himself, flinching when Kurokawa-chan sends him a glare over Tsuna-kun’s shoulder.

* * *

Makoto glares at Ronaldo as he ushers the group of four kids into the JP’s level of the government building. He at least has the decency to look sheepish, while Tsuna-kun and his friends look around the floor in awe. Sighing, she straightens out her posture before stepping forward, watching approvingly as the older boy and long hair girl both step forward protectively.

“Hey, Tsuna-kun. Why are you here with your friends?” she asks, crouching down to be semi-level with her boss’s son. Tsuna-kun perks up, obviously recognizing her as one of his main babysitters (Shijima and Nitta are his other two, leading to some more relaxed interactions between Tsuna-kun and his babysitting “family”), scrambling around the other kids to throw himself at Makoto.

“Mako-obasan!! You’re here!” he exclaims, hugging her neck and shoulders happily. Unable to stop the amused laugh from slipping through, Makoto pats his back soothingly as she stands up, holding him properly.

“He’s here to visit his Da-” Ronaldo starts, only to grin at the embarrassed whine Tsuna-kun uses to interrupt him. However, Makoto can easily figure out what Ronaldo was about to say and she gives him a surprised look. The short haired girl steps forward, tugging at Makoto’s skirt. Looking down, Makoto raises an eye brow at the determined look on her face.

“Please put Tsuna-kun down!” she demands politely, getting a cry of “Kyoko-chan!” from Tsuna-kun. Laughing softly, Makoto returns Tsuna-kun to the floor before turning to the little girl.

“If it isn’t too much of an issue, may I have your names?” Makoto asks, smiling as the little girl frets over Tsuna-kun. Looking up at her, the little girl seems to be thinking before nodding and smiling up at her.

“I’m Sasagawa Kyoko, it’s nice to meet you!” Sasagawa-chan chirps, bowing politely. Makoto nods, looking at the other two children with a friendly smile. The older boy seems to puff up happily, practically beaming at her, while the other girl looks at her warily.

“I’m Sasagawa Ryohei! It’s EXTREMELY nice to meet you!” Sasagawa-kun shouts, bowing quickly enough that Makoto is briefly worried that he’ll fall straight on his head. The other girl huffs and yanks Sasagawa-kun back as best she can, which ends up making him fall onto his butt. Sighing, the girl bows, although her head tilts in a way she can somewhat maintain eye contact with Makoto.

“My name is Kurokawa Hana,” she states, narrowing her eyes at Makoto as if to gauge the threat she is to the little girl’s friends. Makoto isn’t ashamed to admit that Kurokawa-chan is fairly intimidating for a child, reminding her a little of Chief Hotsuin before they met Hibiki and the others.

“It’s nice to meet all of you. However, I have a request for you. Please stay with Ronaldo until you get to Chief Hotsuin’s office. Once there, listen to Chief Hotsuin, as he only wants to keep everyone safe,” Makoto requests. Tsuna-kun nods excitedly while the Sasagawa siblings mull it over. Kurokawa-chan huffs and crosses her arms.

“You’re not going to force us to do anything we don’t want to do, right?” she demands, watching Makoto suspiciously. Recalling the phone call Hibiki gave her after a teacher from the preschool he trusted Tsuna-kun to was fired and multiple lawsuits about potential emotional abuse/manipulation to the students under her care.

“I’ll only do that if what you’re about to do is a threat to yourselves or others,” Makoto compromises, keeping eye contact to let Kurokawa-chan know that she’s being truthful. The little girl looks at Makoto carefully before slowly nodding herself, which seems to be the signal the Sasagawa siblings were waiting for as they practically beam up at Makoto. Nodding down at them, Makoto looks up at Ronaldo, motioning for him to head over to Chief Hotsuin’s office.

“All right, guys. Let’s go visit Tsuna-kun’s Da-” Ronaldo tries again, grinning widely at Tsuna-kun’s wail of, “Ron-ojisan!” Makoto giggles, shaking her head at the childish teasing Ronaldo picked up from hanging around Joe. A pair of arms wrap around her waist, causing Makoto to jump and turn her head as Fumi sets her chin on her shoulder.

“Was that Tsuna-kun? What’s he doing here?” Fumi asks idly, watching as Ronaldo reaches down to stop Sasagawa-kun from falling over in excitement.

“Ronaldo said something about visiting Chief Hotsuin,” Makoto explains, refraining from telling Fumi about Tsuna-kun’s multiple stumbles at almost calling Chief Hotsuin ‘Dad’. The narrow-eyed look she gets from her girlfriend tells Makoto that Fumi knows there is something she’s holding back on. Inhaling deeply, Makoto mentally apologizes to Chief Hotsuin about the teasing Fumi may eventually release before dragging her girlfriend off to a private area to tell her how Tsuna-kun is starting to see their Chief as his Dad.

* * *

Yamato types quickly on his laptop, frowning at the information that appears on his command. A knock on his office door causes him to look up, raising an eyebrow at the interruption.

“Come in,” he calls, leaning back in his chair. The door opens to Kuriki and a small group of children, lead by Tsuna-kun, who runs ahead to round the desk and try to hug Yamato while the man remains sitting. Blinking, Yamato hesitantly pats Tsuna-kun on the head while looking at Kuriki for an answer.

“He wanted to visit you, Dad,” Kuriki states, smirking at the loud whine Tsuna-kun makes against his stomach. Yamato blinks and, upon realizing that Kuriki was quoting Tsuna-kun instead of just teasing him for agreeing to adopt with Hibiki, flushes brightly.

“Hello Hotsuin-san! It’s EXTREMELY nice to finally meet you!” the young boy who entered yells from in front of Yamato’s desk, startling him. Regaining control of his emotions, Yamato pulls Tsuna-kun up onto his lap and turns to face the young boy. The boy reminds Yamato vaguely of some unholy combination of Wakui and Kujou, with pale hair and a fighter’s build combined with abundant energy and overwhelming friendliness.

“I…see,” Yamato replies, unsure of protocol with hyperactive children. The girls whisper to each other while the boy takes a step back and bows to him.

“I’m Sasagawa Ryohei! Hotsuin-sensei helps out our school doctor!” Sasagawa explains. Yamato hums, now understanding why the boy seems so enthused to meet him. Anyone who meets Hibiki tends to be excited to meet Yamato in turn, probably due to Hibiki’s enthusiasm over marrying Yamato. Inclining his head toward the boy, Yamato returns the greeting.

“I am Hotsuin Yamato. A… pleasure to meet you,” he stumbles, looking over at Kuriki to see if his introduction was rude. The other man gave him a shaky grin and made a fluttering motion with his hand, getting an annoyed huff from Yamato. The Hotsuins are a regal, proud family, and he still has issues with introducing himself. How frustrating. However, Sasagawa seems to take it in stride, nodding excitedly before getting distracted by the trophies he won in chess and martial arts tournaments.

“Um, excuse me,” the short haired girl calls, catching Yamato’s attention. He raises an eyebrow and nods for her to continue. Swallowing and fidgeting, she bows politely while saying, “I’m Sasagawa Kyoko and this is Kurokawa Hana.”

“A pleasure to be at your acquaintance,” Yamato greets with a tilt of his head. The girls turn back to each other, whispering while Tsuna-kun peers up at him, having gotten over his embarrassment at calling Yamato ‘Dad’ (which he will pretend doesn’t affect him until he can speak to Hibiki about why his heart gets this fluttering feeling at the idea). Shyly, Tsuna-kun raises his hands, as if asking to be picked up. Yamato hesitates briefly before pulling his son (that’s still very bizarre to even think) up onto his lap.

“Excuse me, Hotsuin-san. Did you scold someone a few weeks ago? They were wearing a yellow shirt and black tie,” Kurokawa asks, Sasagawa-chan standing beside her. Sasagawa-kun looks over curiously, leaning away from the display case.

“There were some of my subordinates who, unfortunately, failed in their duties while in public. I didn’t realize someone saw us, especially ones as young as you. I apologize,” Yamato offers with a head nod. Tsuna-kun looked up curiously, gently reaching up to tug on Yamato’s hair. Turning his attention to the boy on his lap, Yamato raises an eyebrow in question.

“Did anyone get hurt because they failed? Cause Papa said that you help keep people safe, so, I just want to know if someone got hurt,” Tsuna rambles nervously, letting go of Yamato’s hair to fist his own shirt. Huffing a quiet laugh, Yamato shakes his head.

“Luckily, no one was hurt. But there was still a possibility of harm,” Yamato explains. Tsuna-kun hums and nods, sliding off his lap to wander over to Sasagawa-kun, who is still looking at the trophies. The girls whisper between themselves, occasionally glancing at him or Tsuna-kun. Sasagawa-chan has a look in her eyes that remind Yamato of Hibiki when he has a plan that may end in either laughter or a headache. Looking up at Kuriki, Yamato decides that whatever plan Sasagawa-chan is planning, it’s his fault for bringing the children to JP’s headquarters.

* * *

Hibiki frowns at his phone, which has been extremely active today, with bewildered texts from Yamato, laughing texts from Ronaldo and Fumi, and bizarre texts from the others. The only thing the texts had in common is Tsuna and his friends, leading to the conclusion that they’re at the JP’s headquarters and wandering around the unrestricted areas. Entering the JP’s library, Hibiki pauses, blinking in surprise at what is in front of him.

Daichi and Joe are recording Hinako teaching the kids how to waltz with a reluctant Keita, Jungo and Airi dancing off to the side. Fumi is calmly sitting on Makoto’s lap, typing away on a laptop, while Makoto rests her forehead against her girlfriend’s shoulder, looking to be in pain. Ronaldo is trying to teach Sasagawa-kun on how to safely throw a punch, sweating nervously as Io and Otome look on in disapproval. Al Saiduq is sitting on the floor, watching Hinako and Keita just as avidly as the kids, while Miyako is attempting to calm a frustrated looking Yamato.

“So… when did this happen?” Hibiki asks, causing multiple people to jump in surprise. Dipping Keita, to his obvious disgust, Hinako grins up at him while Daichi waves from behind his phone.

“Papa! You’re here!” Tsuna cries happily, jumping up and running over to Hibiki, dodging around the adults to get to Hibiki. Crouching down to scoop his son up, Hibiki raises an eyebrow as Yamato stands from the desk he was sitting behind to use Hibiki as a human shield.

“This is Kuriki’s fault,” Yamato explains, wrapping his arms around Hibiki’s waist and resting his head on Hibiki’s shoulder. Chuckling, Hibiki pats his head while making sure to keep Tsuna supported.

“Hotsuin-sensei! Your husband is really EXTREME!” Sasagawa-kun yells from where he’s learning from Ronaldo. Kurokawa-chan stands up and walks over to Hibiki, loudly declaring, “Your friends are weird.”

“Hey! I take offense to that!” Daichi calls, lowering his phone. Kurokawa-chan turns and gives him a look which causes him to chuckle nervously and shy away from the girl. Joe laughs, lowering his phone to probably send the video to Yui-san while Sasagawa-chan stands up and beams at Hibiki.

“Today’s been fun!” she cheerfully proclaims, acting as if Yamato didn’t text Hibiki about how she orchestrated an argument over animated movies between Ronaldo and Otome while she led the kids near the labs to see the interesting things JP’s is working on.

“I see,” Hibiki replies, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of everything, while Yamato groans against his shoulder.


	8. Rainy Days Clearing Up

Tsuna frowns when he sees Yamamoto-kun coming to school after a week’s absence. Namimori is a small town and deaths are well known throughout the community, even his Mama’s death is common knowledge. The only reason it’s not talked about is because she died during the summer holidays, giving people time to get used to her missing. However, Yamamoto-kun’s Momma died just this past week and Tsuna wants to help, even though he doesn’t know how.

“Um, Yamamoto-kun? Are you okay?” he finally asks, waiting for Yamamoto-kun’s friends to leave him alone. The smile on his face makes Tsuna uncomfortable, reminding him of a mask.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” Yamamoto-kun laughs, grating at his Flame. Even if his Flame wasn’t awake like Al-san made it, Tsuna is sure he would be able to tell that Yamamoto-kun is lying.

“Well, your Momma died and I thought you’d want to talk with someone who also lost their Momma,” Tsuna offers, nervous. Yamamoto-kun’s laugh cuts off and his face shifts to something angry, something raw and hurt that Tsuna is familiar with. It’s the feeling he has after waking up after a nightmare of fire and smoke and men in black, the feeling that claws at his throat and crushes his lungs when he recognizes the room he’s in as the one in the Hotsuin mansion. It’s not a good feeling.

“Shut up,” Yamamoto-kun snaps, glaring at Tsuna. Flinching at the venom in his tone, Tsuna presses on with an attempt at a shaky smile.

“Y-you don’t have to hold it in,” Tsuna continues, earnest in his help. Yamamoto-kun stares at Tsuna, his face still contorted in that ugly feeling. A moment of silence passes them when Yamamoto-kun launches himself at Tsuna with an angry cry.

* * *

Hibiki bursts into the preschool president’s office, gasping for breath as he takes in the sight before him. Tsuna is curled up on a chair, bandages decorating his arms, legs and face, while Yamamoto-san sits beside his son, quietly scolding and fussing over the equally beaten boy who is glaring at Tsuna. Sighing, Hibiki bows to Watanabe-san before sitting beside Tsuna, allowing his son to crawl on to his lap and burry his face into his shirt.

“Now, I would like to know what happened. Because, honestly? I have half a mind to ask both of you to keep your sons at home for the next week,” Watanabe-sensei starts. Yamamoto-kun blurts out, “He should have minded his own business! Just because his Momma died doesn’t mean anything! At least my Dad wants me!”

“Takeshi!” Yamamoto-san snaps, causing his son to flinch and look down. Tsuna presses his face harder into Hibiki’s chest, mumbling something that none of the adults could hear.

“Tsuna, you need to speak up for us to understand you,” Hibiki coaxes, gently turning his son around. Tsuna avoids looking at everyone, staring at the floor while trying not to cry.

“I jus’ wanted him to know i’s okay to be sad. He din’t need ta fake b’in’ happy,” Tsuna blubber, his tears winning out. Hibiki sighs, easily realizing what happened as he turns Tsuna back to his chest, letting his son dampen his shirt.

“I believe, Watanabe-sensei, that Tsuna tried to let Yamamoto-kun know he’s not alone but ended up phrasing it in a way Yamamoto-kun didn’t want to hear. I’m willing to keep Tsuna at home for a few days, if need be,” Hibiki offers, mentally planning to contact Sasagawa-san and Kurokawa-san to see if they’ll be up for a sleepover this coming up week end to make up for Tsuna’s absence. The girls will probably want to make sure Tsuna’s okay while Sasagawa-kun would help him feel better.

“I’ll make sure Takeshi knows that this kind of behavior isn’t allowed, Watanabe-sensei,” Yamamoto-san promises, giving his son a stern look. The aging teacher hums, leaning back while looking at the boys in his office.

“If I maybe so bold, I have an idea,” Watanabe-sensei begins, surprising the parents into listening.

* * *

“Takeshi, I know you aren’t happy with this situation, but this may help you,” Otousan says, holding onto Takeshi’s hand as they walk to the Hotsuin mansion. Frowning, he looks at the ground, still split on how he feels. On one hand, he knows that Hotsuin-kun was just trying to help, but it hurt to think about Okaasan. How he’d never get to watch baseball with her again, how she’d never get to read him bedtime stories again. When Hotsuin-kun tried to make him talk, Takeshi was just so angry. Part of him was angry at Hotsuin-kun, who seems to be fine without his okaasan. Another part was angry at his Otousan for not saving her, and a third part was angry at himself for not getting help in time (a fourth part was angry at her, for not fighting or yelling, but then Takeshi would have been in danger according to Otousan. He hates himself for being angry at her).

“Hotsuin-san is home along with a few of his friends. He also said that Hibari-kun is going to be over, so be careful with him,” Otousan explains, walking up to the gate and pressing the buzzer. Takeshi nods mutely, wondering if Hotsuin-kun is going to yell at him or ignore him like the other kids do when someone hurts them. The gate opens, allowing them to walk up to the mansion door, which opens to a pretty red-haired woman with glasses.

“Yamamoto-san! Welcome!” she cries happily, beaming at Otousan. Takeshi blinks and looks up as Otousan chuckles and shakes his head at the lady.

“Sorry, Kujou-san, but I’m just here to drop off Takeshi. I’m sure you heard-” Otousan begins, only to be interrupted by Kujou-san waving her hand and squatting down to be level with Takeshi.

“Hey there, bud. Tsuna-kun is flailing about his room to make sure you’re comfortable, so don’t pout, ‘kay? Hibari-kun’s also up there, so don’t get too loud,” she warns, waiting for Takeshi to nod before she stands up and motions for him to follow. Takeshi looks up at Otousan, who smiles and gently pushes him into the mansion, only stopping him to promise that he’ll pick him up at the end of the day. Watching Otousan head back down the walkway, Takeshi reluctantly follows Kujou-san into the mansion and up the stairs to a bedroom.

“Tsuna-kun and Hibari-kun are inside,” Kujou-san tells him, knocking on the door. Takeshi hears Hotsuin-kun call out followed by a thud and an apology before the door opens. In the doorway is Hotsuin-kun, trying to look happy despite obviously being nervous.

“Yamamoto-kun! Hi!” Hotsuin-kun chirps. Takeshi nods and gives his “normal” smile, ignoring the worried look that crosses Hotsuin-kun’s face.

“Heya Hotsuin-kun,” he laughs back, stepping into the room. Hibari-kun glares at him from his position on the window seat while Kujou-san reminds Hotsuin-kun about a sleepover he’s having with Sasagawa-chan and Kurokawa-chan later that week and how he has to do somethings to get ready. After Hotsuin-kun nods in reply, Kujou-san leaves, letting the room descend into awkward silence.

“You made the Little Animal cry,” Hibari-kun finally growls, his metal weapons sliding out from somewhere. Immediately, Hotsuin-kun jumps between them, flailing his arms rapidly.

“W-w-wait Kyouya-kun! I made him upset first! Um, so, uh. Th-there’s no reason t-to do that!” Hotsuin-kun insists. Hibari-kun pauses, alternating between looking at Hotsuin-kun weirdly and glaring at Takeshi. Suddenly, he clicks his tongue and storms out of the room, snapping, “I’m getting food. Don’t make the Little Animal cry again.” Takeshi isn’t sure how to react to Hibari-kun’s abrupt departure when he feels a pair of hands grab his. Turning, Takeshi blinks at the look Hotsuin-kun is giving him, similar to the look on the playground but also different. Orange is mixing into his brown eyes while Hotsuin-kun continues to make eye contact with Takeshi.

“I know you probably don’t wanna hear me say it again, but just know that I’ll listen if you wanna talk,” Hotsuin-kun says. Takeshi blinks, waiting for the anger he felt on the playground, the rage that clawed up his throat. However, before that fury could take hold, Hotsuin-kun lets go and walks over to the closet, pulling out a game.

“You wanna play gomoku with me? Papa taught me the rules and I wanna make sure I get it before I play with my other friends when we have our sleepover,” he explains, setting down the old looking Go board. Blinking at how easily his anger disappeared, Takeshi slowly nods, settling down to play against Hotsuin-kun.

* * *

Through out the week that they were out of school, Hotsuin-kun becomes Tsuna-kun and he teaches Takeshi Go, Shogi, and chess. While he’s not good with the strategy stuff, Takeshi still has fun, especially with how patient Tsuna-kun is. He explains everything in a way that makes sense to Takeshi, never huffing or getting irritated when he needs multiple explanation of the rules.

“…Ah, good job, Takeshi-kun! You got check mate!” Tsuna-kun cheers for him, beaming over the board. Takeshi laughs, rubbing at the back of his head in embarrassment at the praise.

“Well, you explained it so much that I had to get it at some time. Only my Okaasan is-” Takeshi stops, feeling his gut drop as he remembers that his Okaasan isn’t anything anymore. Not waiting at home, not explaining baseball or teaching him different pitches, not laughing at Otousan’s jokes or tickling him to make him laugh. Not alive, not here, not alive, not here, _notalivenotherewhyisntshestillherewhydidshehavetodie_ …

“Takeshi-kun! Breathe!” Tsuna-kun calls, his hands on either side of Takeshi’s face. He blinks, looking at worried brown eye as he feels tears slide down his face.

“I miss my Okaasan,” Takeshi whispers, trembling as it all starts to crack and splinter. Choking on a sob, Takeshi buries his face into Tsuna-kun’s shoulder and clings to his new friend. Tsuna-kun doesn’t say anything just rubbing at his back and rocking back and forth. Takeshi sobs, croaking out, “I’m sorry. I’ll be good. I just want Okaasan back. Please. Please.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t bring her back. I’m sorry,” Tsuna-kun apologizes, starting to cry himself. Takeshi wails, pressing his face against Tsuna’s shoulder.

* * *

Opening the Little Animal’s door, Kyouya blinks and cocks his head to the side. Tsuna gives him a watery smile, as he’s obviously been crying. What stops him from making demands is Herbivore asleep with his head on Tsuna’s lap. Yamamoto’s face is red and puffy from crying as well, clinging to the Little Animal’s waist even in sleep.

“He missed his Okaasan,” Tsuna explains. Humming, Kyouya decides to allow this to slide, settling beside his fluffy companion for a nap. He hears Tsuna give a small giggle as he drifts off.

* * *

Hibiki and Yamamoto-san both peer into Tsuna-kun’s room, blinking in surprise at the small pile of boys on the floor. Turning to give the chef a smile, Hibiki chuckles softly, “Well, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Yamamoto-kun attacking Tsuna-kun.”

“I think so. Although, I’m a little concerned still,” Yamamoto-san admits, frowning at the boys. Hibiki blinks and turns to the other man curiously.

“Why?” he asks. Yamamoto-san sighs, running his hand through his hair.

“What do you know about Guardians?” he asks instead. Hibiki furrows his brows at that, confused.

“I would need some context, Yamamoto-san,” he requests, frowning as the sushi chef sighs again, shaking his head.

“How about we start with what you know about Flames,” Yamamoto-san counters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! If Takeshi seems a little OOC this chapter, it's because I wrote him in a way that kids who just lost someone close to them would react when they understand. That is avoidance and, if that doesn't work, anger at the person who brought their loved one up. Basically, kids need to work through their grief on their own with gentle nudges and support by their parents. While Tsuna had the best intentions, it didn't go that well for him.


	9. Gaining Knowledge and Guardians

Gathering everyone in the living room while the boys nap in Tsuna’s room is a strange difficulty that Hibiki still doesn’t know how he managed, especially with how Airi was yelling at Keita and Hinako. Yet they’re all gathered together, with Yamamoto-san sitting in front of them.

“So, JP’s has known about Flames for how long?” he asks, still absorbing the information that Yamato just gave him. Sighing, Yamato rubs at his eyes, trying not to snap at the sushi chef, which Hibiki is grateful for. While his husband still is impatient with most ignorance or repetitious questioning, he is learning when it’s due to incredulousness and not stupidity.

“I just said, JP’s has known about Flames since Sawada Ieyasu arrived in Japan. Upon finding out about the threat of Demons, he offered to help JP’s and ended up revealing Flames to my ancestors. While we understand the base information, we don’t quite understand the intricacy of this ability, due to Sawada Ieyasu’s death and the initial disappearance of his blood line as demons started to appear more frequently,” Yamato explains again, glaring at Yamamoto-san. The man holds his hands up, attempting to placate Yamato.

“I’m sorry, it’s just something of a surprise. The yakuza didn’t start using Flames until twenty years after Sawada’s death, so to hear that your ancestors actually worked with him is surprising,” Yamamoto-san explains. Hibiki puts his hand on Yamato’s clenching fist, leaning his head against his husband’s shoulder. Feeling Yamato relax under his affection, Hibiki gives Yamamoto-san a smile.

“Can you please explain what you meant about Guardians?” he asks. The man blinks at Yamato relaxing before shaking his head.

“Guardians is a title reserved for those with Flames that connect with a Sky. The Sky acts as a central point to the other Flame users, helping strengthen the others with their connections,” Yamamoto-san explains. Hibiki blinks, looking at him in confusion.

“Don’t the Guardians have connections to each other?” Hinako asks before he can ask himself. Yamamoto-san sighs and shakes his head.

“You would think so, however, all the Flame based groups that I know of don’t encourage that kind of interaction,” Yamamoto-san sighs.

“That is because they fear what they don’t know,” Al Saiduq states, appearing behind the couch that Hibiki and his friends are sitting on. Daichi shrieks and falls off the couch, flailing about, while Io jumps and squeaks. Ronaldo jumps up and spins to face Al Saiduq, while Yamato just turns his head and Fumi ignores him to work on her laptop. Miyako, Makoto, and Otome look over curiously while Joe laughs at Daichi’s predicament. Yamamoto-san looks up at Al Saiduq in bewilderment as the ex-Septentrion hums and rocks his head back and forth.

“The one known as Primo Vongola was not the first Flame user as it was the ones before, the ones Polaris created before humans. Flame was a common use of power. However, they failed to meet Polaris’ expectations, and thus were wiped from existence. There were survivors, ones who continue to prey upon the humans to keep themselves alive,” Al Saiduq explains. Miyako shoots up in her seat, snapping angrily, “Where are they? They shouldn’t be allowed-”

“Calm down, Miyako,” Yamato orders, motioning for his sister to sit down. Reluctantly, she settles back down on to the couch, huffing and crossing her arms. He looks back at Al Saiduq with a frown.

“What would happen if the Guardians were connected to each other?” Yamato asks. Al Saiduq smiles mysteriously, tilting his head to the side.

“They would thrive wonderfully. If the Akashic Record still existed, then they would be able to defy any fate the Administrator would try to force on them. They would be their own Record Breakers,” he tells them, obviously pleased with how powerful humans are. Yamamoto-san looks confused while everyone else makes noises of understanding.

“Akashic Record? Why are you talking about a theological idea?” Yamamoto-san asks, frowning at them. Hibiki chuckles nervously, before explaining about the apocalypse that they had to fight through. Despite the unbelievable explanations, Yamamoto-san seems to understand that Hibiki isn’t lying or making anything up, frowning and nodding along. Upon finishing their story, Yamamoto-san chuckles and shakes his head.

“Of course this would be when I find out why,” Yamamoto-san laughs. Hibiki frowns in confusion while Yamato raises an eyebrow.

“Why what?” Yamato asks, ignoring Hinako pulling out her phone to type out something. Yamamoto-san grins, leaning forward.

“Well, the Mafia world is terrified of the Hotsuin name,” Yamamoto-san starts.

* * *

Tsuna blinks awake, comfortable in the cuddle pile made up of Takeshi-kun and Kyouya-kun. Sitting up slowly, he rubs at his eyes and yawns, blinking blearily around his room. He faintly hears Daichi-ojisan’s laughter from down stairs, but it’s very comfortable between his friends. Kyouya-kun’s Fire is petting his own while Takeshi-kun’s Fire shyly prods at him, asking to be friends. Humming, Tsuna settles back into the little pile, welcoming Takeshi-kun’s Fire as easily as he welcomed Ryohei-nii’s and just as softly as he holds both Kyoko’s and Hana’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's a mild name drop for the Devil Survivor 2 remake. Sorry for how short this chapter is, I just wanted characters to know more about Flames while implying Tsuna's growing Guardian group. The next chapter will be a "Holiday" one that I made, literally for one line... I am not a proud person, y'all.


	10. Holiday Party and Stars

The remainder of summer and fall passed quickly for Tsuna, his bonds between his friends strengthening. Ryohei-nii and Kyouya both picked up sparring with Keita-nii while Tsuna joined Kyoko and Hana in learning dance from Hinako-obasan. Takeshi, after apologizing multiple times again, started learning how to cook from both his dad and Uncle Jungo. They visited JP’s a few times between then and now, Kyoko dragging Tsuna and Takeshi in and out of trouble while giving both Dad and Hana headaches. Now, as Tsuna watches snow gather on the ground, he misses Momma again, but he knows she’s smiling at him from the other side.

“Tsuna! Come help me decorate the cookies!” Papa calls from the kitchen. Finishing his quiet prayer for his Momma, Tsuna practically skips down the stairs excitedly. Papa and Uncle Jungo are cooking Christmas dinner, home frying chicken instead of buying it from KFC. Auntie Airi and Io-obasan are already at the table, bags of frosting and candies spread around the cookies in front of them. Pulling himself up on the seat, he grabs a bag of green frosting and bounces excitedly on the stool.

“Someone’s excited for Christmas,” Auntie teases, moving a tree cookie over to him. Tsuna beams up at her before squeezing the bag, squirting out a glob of frosting that he takes the back of a spoon to, smoothing it over the cookie as carefully as he can.

“I wanna make cookies good enough for Santa to take to Momma when he goes up,” Tsuna explains, focusing on the cookie before him, placing M&Ms all over the tree like the ornaments on the big tree in the living room.

“I’m sure whatever you make will make her happy, Tsuna,” Papa assures him, stepping around the table to press a kiss against his head, something that started up just before his sixth birthday. Tsuna grins up at Papa, before moving on to the circle cookie, concentrating as he takes a bag of white frosting and carefully draws on the cookie. Io-obasan giggles, her cookie looking really pretty, like a snowflake, while Auntie Airi pouts at her sloppy snowman. The gate buzzes followed by the door bell, and the feeling of happy yellow flames with cheery yellow-purple flames coax Tsuna away from the table. He barrels into the Sasagawa siblings, cheering out, “Merry Christmas, Kyoko, Ryohei-nii!!”

“Merry Christmas, little brother!” Ryohei-nii replies loudly, catching him before he could hit Kyoko-nee and spins him around. Tsuna laughs happily, stumbling back when Ryohei-nii lets go to latch onto Kyoko. She giggles and returns his hug, allowing herself to be dragged into the kitchen, where more cookies sit to be decorated. He hears their parents enter and speak with Daichi-ojisan and Ron-ojisan, who are both sitting in the living room. Auntie easily gives up her seat for Kyoko while Ryohei-nii climbs on to the seat between Tsuna and Kyoko. The three of them decorate cookies, cooing over Tsuna and Kyoko’s pretty designs and giggling at Ryohei-nii’s sloppy, colorful cookies. Eventually, Tsuna perks up at the red-purple flames coming to the gate, then the door. Jumping off the chair, Tsuna takes off toward the living room again, grinning when Hana enters the mansion.

“Merry Christmas Hana!” Tsuna cries, rushing over for a hug. Hana huffs, but stays still to let him hug her, patting his head.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Monkey,” Hana sighs, rolling her eyes while her mother tries to scold her. Tsuna pulls back to beam up at her as Kyoko and Ryohei-nii peek out of the kitchen.

“Ah, Hana! Merry Christmas!” Kyoko cheers, waving from the kitchen while Ryohei-nii calls out, “EXTREMELY Merry Christmas!” Hana sighs and shakes her head, letting herself be led to the kitchen by Tsuna with a small smile on her face. The four decorate more cookies while Papa finishes making dinner, the chicken done and the Christmas Cake is getting decorated carefully by Papa and Uncle Jungo. Before the food is completed, Tsuna feels a pair of happy blue flames and a pair of purple flames. Leaping off his seat, Tsuna runs back to the front door just in time of Dad to open it to let in Takeshi and Kyouya.

“Merry Christmas!” Tsuna yells, launching himself at Takeshi, who laughs and swings him around while Kyouya takes a step back, away from the pair.

“Merry Christmas, Tsuna!” Takeshi laughs, beaming as his otousan ruffles their hair with a chuckle before entering the mansion, followed closely by Hibari-san. Tsuna turns to Kyouya and takes his hand, giving it a firm squeeze before letting go, beaming at the nod and small smile he gets in return.

“Alright, guys! Dinner’s ready!” Papa calls, carrying out a tray covered in fried chicken with Uncle Jungo following with a container full of rice and pickles. Tsuna hops excitedly in his seat between Kyouya and Takeshi, watching as Papa and Uncle Jungo bring out miso soup filled with winter vegetables, a sunomono, some spicy chicken and cucumber mix, and the cookies that they decorated. They eat their food, Tsuna happily chewing on his chicken while Takeshi laughs at Ryohei-nii’s red face from the mix. Kyouya pouts at the sunomono, pushing it around his plate before swapping it with Hana’s miso, which she happily makes to get rid of for his salad. Kyoko keeps sneaking bits of the mix on to Hana and Ryohei-nii’s plates, giggling when they cough at the spice. Papa talks to Sasagawa-san about something at the doctor’s office with Yanagiya-sensei, while Kurokawa-san and Kurokawa-san talk the Sasagawa-san and Yamamoto-san about cooking, with Uncle Jungo throwing in a few tips. Eventually, they finish off their food, while Tsuna gets to offer his really nice cookie to Momma at the butsudan, before gathering in the living room.

“I’m surprised at the fact you even celebrate Christmas, Hotsuin-san,” Sasagawa-san says, smiling at Papa while Dad and her husband talk about something Fumi-san made to be shared with the doctor’s office. Papa laughs, shaking his head while Keita-nii has a staring contest with Hibari-san.

“Truth be told, this was my husband’s idea. He wanted to have some excuse to let Tsuna have a party before the end of the year and decided Christmas would be a time,” Papa explains, chuckling at the pout Dad sends him. The other adults laugh while Hina-obasan enters the room with some tea and hot cocoa.

“Hey, I just had a fun idea,” Keita-nii starts, grinning. Everyone turns to him, letting him continue, “We hang up mistletoe, but instead of kissing, you fight the person under it.” Hina-obasan chokes while the kids giggle (well, everyone but Kyouya giggle. His blood thirsty grin tells exactly how he feels about that idea) and the parents chuckle.

“We are definitely not doing that,” Hina-obasan insists, setting the tray down to cross her arms in frustration.

“Mistlefoe,” Takeshi throws out, laughing gleefully at the look of betrayal from Hina-obasan.

“Don’t encourage him!!” she scolds while Auntie Airi cackles loudly.

“I was just about to say that,” she laughs, covering her head while Hina-obasan swats at her with her scarf. Papa chuckles while Dad looks up at the ceiling with a put-upon sigh.

* * *

Mother left with the other Herbivores, leaving Kyouya with Tsunayoshi and his acquaintances (although, the girls are fairly close to being Omnivores along with Tsunayoshi while the boys are close to becoming companions instead of just acquaintances) for the night. Hotsuin-sensei helped Torii-san hang up spare sheets, creating what the Herbivores call a blanket fort.

“Ah, Kyouya. Over here,” Tsunayoshi calls quietly, motioning him toward the crowd. Reluctantly, he crawls over the pillows and blankets on the floor to settle beside the Little Animal while still keeping his distance from the others. The rest seem to accept his position, watching as the fluffy Omnivore fixes something before settling comfortably beside Kyouya.

“Are you guys ready?” Tsunayoshi asks, grinning at Kyoko nods excitedly and her brother whisper-yells an “extreme”. Hana sighs, nodding with a curious look in her eyes while Yamamoto just laughs. A pair of big brown eyes look up at him, causing his heart to beat rapidly in his chest at the attention.

“Are you ready, Kyouya?” Tsunayoshi asks again, smiling softly. Kyouya blinks away the image of a bunny or young bird that always comes to mind when he smiles like that, nodding to Tsunayoshi. The Omnivore turns back to what he was fiddling with, and presses a button. The inside of their fort lights up with constellations, stars created from the little light source in the center.

“Wao,” Kyouya whispers while Yamamoto whistles softly. Tsunayoshi sits up and starts pointing at the dots of light, naming them while Kyoko and Hana look up and Sasagawa falls on to his back to see the ceiling better.

“… and that’s the Big Dipper with Dubhe, Merak, Phecda…” Tsunayoshi continues, not noticing Kyouya watching him, watching the light reflect off soft brown eyes, off fluffy brown hair, off a kind smile and oh. Kyouya’s face heats up as he realizes exactly what he’s feeling. He likes the little Omnivore, similar to how the Hotsuin couple like each other. Shaking his head, he turns back to Tsunayoshi, willing his face to cool as he listens to the stars and their names.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, Hibari is the one to realize his feelings first!


	11. New Schooling and New Friends

Tsuna shuffles awkwardly beside Papa, hiding behind his nice pants while some parents and kids look over at them curiously. There are a lot more kids than in his preschool, most of them older than he is, making him nervous and unsure of what to do.

“Hey, Tsuna. C’mon, you don’t need to hide behind me,” Papa tries again, patting at his back again. Tsuna shakes his head and buries it against Papa’s leg. He hears Papa sigh, feels him ruffling his hair, before Papa starts walking toward the building. Tsuna stumbles after Papa, clinging as best he can to Papa’s white doctor coat, looking around the school yard with big watery eyes. He doesn’t see Takeshi, or Kyoko, or Hana, although he can feel them somewhere nearby. Ryohei and Kyouya are somewhere in the school already, with Ryohei already annoying Kyouya with something.

“Hey, Tsuna. Look over there,” Papa says, pointing over to the familiar pair. Tsuna blinks before perking up, pulling away enough to wave rapidly at Takeshi, who blinks over at them before waving back just as rapidly.

“Well, looks like someone is ready for the new school year,” Yamamoto-san laughs as Papa and Tsuna walk up to the pair. Papa chuckles and shakes his head, looking down at Tsuna and Takeshi, who are hugging each other, in amusement.

“He might be dressed for the part, but he’s been clinging to me the whole time,” Papa explains with a smile. Tsuna blushes while Takeshi laughs at Papa’s words, poking his red cheeks with a finger.

“It’ll be okay, Tsuna! I’m sure we’ll be together!” Takeshi promises, his smile big and bright. Tsuna looks at his friend, feeling his blue Flames tangle with his own in a promise, before smiling back and nodding. Grabbing Takeshi’s hand, Tsuna grins back, giggling giddily at the warm feeling Takeshi’s Flames give him. Yamamoto-san laughs too, shaking his hand before grabbing Takeshi’s hand.

“C’mon, kids. We need to get to the Entrance Ceremony,” Yamamoto-san coaxes, leading Papa and Tsuna into the auditorium. Finding a seat in front of Hana and Kyoko, Takeshi and Tsuna talk excitedly about this new school year (well, it’s more Takeshi and Kyoko talking excitedly. Hana reminds them that somethings are still out of their reach for the time being while Tsuna tries not to hyperventilate every time Takeshi and Kyoko insist that people will want to talk to him), before the principle and school board take the stage. Surprisingly, Kyouya is also on stage, standing beside Hibari-san. Despite the droning of the old men on the stage, Tsuna stays awake to watch as his friend reacts to what the old men are saying, giggling every time Kyouya and Hibari-san share annoyed looks at the mention of “teamwork”, “support”, and “friend groups”, despite both of them having a group of friends. Eventually, the students are dismissed and the parents say goodbye to their kids, with Yamamoto-san, Sasagawa-san, and Kurokawa-san all leaving with waves. Papa gathers up Tsuna and his friends before he goes to the school infirmary, making sure they know where he’ll be.

“Now, if anything happens, go to either me or Hibari-kun, okay? We’ll try to take care of it as soon as we possibly can,” Papa promises. Tsuna nods in understanding while his friends agree, although Hana’s sounded reluctant in her agreement. Smiling, Papa ruffles his hair before heading into the school building. They stay gathered together, waiting for one of their sempais to come get them. Tsuna fidgets, watching as the other kids are led off by fifth or sixth graders.

“Do you think they’ll let us stay together in a group?” Tsuna asks Kyoko. She frowns in thought, humming lightly before shaking her head.

“I think Ryohei-nii said that individual students get a sempai to show them around,” she says. Hana huffs and crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes as sempais move around their small group. She spots someone looking at their group and raises an eyebrow before Tsuna notices someone stalking toward their group. Turning, Tsuna perks up excitedly at the sight of Kyouya, waving happily at his friend. Kyouya pauses to nod at Tsuna before turning toward the boy Hana was glaring at. He speaks quietly at the boy before turning and leaving, the boy following closely behind. Tsuna pouts, his flame prodding at Kyouya’s curiously, wanting to know why he didn’t at least stop to speak with them. Kyouya’s flame flashes images at Tsuna’s flame, where the boy with him helps handle the discipline of the school. Tsuna hums, blinking as a small group of sempais walks over to their group.

* * *

Tetsuya glances back at the small group of kids (although, he doesn’t have much room to talk, seeing as he’s the same age as them) that includes Hotsuin-sensei’s son. He knows Hibari-kun is fond of the brunet boy and reluctantly fond of the rest of the group, although the way he didn’t storm over to stop their “crowding” implies that Hibari-kun may like them more than he lets on.

“Hibari-kun, a question,” Tetsuya requests. Hibari-kun pauses and looks at Tetsuya, raising an eyebrow in response.

“Are you associates with that group?” he asks, making sure to be a few steps back to give him a chance of escape should Hibari-kun lash out. Instead of lashing out, Hibari-kun flushes lightly, glaring out the windows as they pass by.

“Yes,” he admits, offering no further explanation as he enters into an abandoned classroom. Tetsuya tries not to smirk at the reluctant admission, as he knows Hibari-kun would beat him down for showing such a reaction to his moment of “weakness”. Although, Tetsuya notices, Hibari-kun seems to be focused on Hotsuin-sensei’s son, going so far as to watch avidly as one of the sixth graders talk to the fluffy (because there’s no real other way to describe him) boy before motioning for him to follow. Tetsuya cocks his head to the side, wondering if it’s worth the beating he’s sure to get for his teasing before deciding he doesn’t care.

“Do you plan to wear white at your wedding or will Hotsuin-kun be wearing white,” Tetsuya asks. Hibari-kun hums, quietly murmuring something about an Omnivore before tensing. Tetsuya turns and sprints toward Hotsuin-sensei’s office, if only to be closer to his final destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kusakabe Tetsuya has appeared! Also, I'm crying because this highschool looking mother is actually 14. The same age as Tsuna. I'm just... I'm losing my shit guys.


	12. Discipline is needed

Storming through Namimori Elementary, Kyouya scowls as he sees a group of Herbivores gather around a younger Herbivore. He can hear their jeers and laughter, mocking the smaller Herbivore for their lack of teeth despite their own barely growing in.

“Herbivores,” he growls, his tonfas on his arms within a heartbeat. The fear that strike them is good, that they recognize a Carnivore is good.

“I will bite you to death,” he snaps before launching himself at them. Their cries of pain and the sound of metal hitting flesh does nothing for Kyouya other than informing him that he is disciplining the Herbivores. Once he finished with them, he turned and walked away, leaving the small Herbivore amongst their unconscious aggressors. The Herbivores have been acting out recently, much to Kyouya’s annoyance. Kusakabe has been helping him figure out who would and wouldn’t be good to help handle the herd, but he needs the support of others before he can bring it up to the Herbivores fumbling around while claiming to run this school.

“Kyouya!” He hears Tsunayoshi call from behind him before the fluffy Omnivore skips beside him, grinning up at him. Pausing, Kyouya blinks before grabbing Tsunayoshi’s wrist (ignoring the flush creeping up his face) and dragging him to the empty classroom he and Kusakabe have taken over.

* * *

Hana sighs, glaring at Kyouya as he looks over the small group he gathered. She, Kyoko, Tsuna and Ryohei are all sitting in an empty classroom with Kyouya and Kusakabe-san. Takeshi managed to slide out of this gathering because he’s been planning on joining the baseball club, first as a ball boy before joining as a player once he’s nine. However, that has nothing to do with what is happening right now, where Kyouya is looking at the five of them with a thoughtful look on his face.

“We need a way to curb the herd,” he declares, confusing Kyoko and Ryohei. Hana and Tsuna share a look, Tsuna’s is fondly exasperated while Hana’s is just tired.

“What do you mean?” Kyoko asks, getting an irritated look from Kyouya, one that they’ve figured out means he’s not sure how to explain it to “normal” people.

“I think he means that he wants help making sure that rules are followed,” Tsuna translates, looking over to Kyouya to get a reluctant nod. Hana hums, cocking her head to the side in thought.

“So, you’re making a club,” she states, getting a scowl from Kyouya.

“A committee,” he hisses while Kusakabe-san nods to her. Hana raises an eyebrow as Kyoko and Ryohei both perk up.

“You can call it whatever you want, it’s still a club,” she points out. Before Kyouya could start arguing with her (which is their favorite activity to do when it’s just them), Kyoko jumps up excitedly.

“Are we hunting down bullies and jerks like that? Cause then I’m in!” she exclaims while Ryohei yells out, “EXTREME!!” Kyouya gives her a smug look while Tsuna sits quietly to the side, thinking about something before looking up as if he has an idea.

“If it’s okay with Hana, we can check over the rules and look for loophole abuses and loose rules that could become abused by students. That way, we can tell if new members are just abusing the club to either get out of trouble or beat up other students without reason,” Tsuna offers, once again reminding Hana that the Hotsuin family comes from a line of geniuses and even adopted kids pick up things from their parents. The smile that Kyouya gives them would give Hana a cause to worry if she didn’t know that the smile means that he’s pleased by something his “friend” said. Peering over Tsuna, she raises an eyebrow at Kyoko, who just smiles sunnily back at her. Of course, Kyoko would be fine with this, she thinks Kyouya’s infatuation with Tsuna is adorable and she’s been feeding him a list of kids who have tried to bully Tsuna. Emphasis on tried, because he talked circles around them and slipped away before they could resort to violence.

“I’m willing to do that, as long as I don’t have to actually fight,” Hana offers, crossing her arms. While she wouldn’t mind some self-defense lessons, she isn’t going to join the Sasagawa siblings in diving into fighting gleefully. She’s a tactician, not a fighter, and she refuses to become one. Kyouya frowns at her, but still nods in acceptance, turning his attention to Kyoko and Ryohei to start plotting out patrols and routes within the school. Kusakabe-san walks over to them, bowing politely.

“I hope to work well with you in the future, Kurokawa-san, Hotsuin-san,” he tells them. Tsuna perks up, nodding excitedly while Hana looks over at their year-mate. While he looks like he should already be in middle school, Kusakabe-san is definitely one of the least annoying and obnoxious of the monkeys within their school. Besides, she also knows that he’s smart, often switching with her for second and third place in their scores (Tsuna quickly and efficiently took first place out with 100s and high 90s across the board, with his lowest score being 97 in history) and he can handle the insanity that is Kyouya. Hana nods, holding her hand out for a shake.

“I hope to work well with you as well,” she agrees.

* * *

Hibiki looks up from his lists of needed materials for the school infirmary when the door opens. Tsuna pokes his head in, smiling up at Hibiki before shuffling shyly into the room.

“Papa? Can you help us with setting up a club?” Tsuna asks, holding out the paper for club creation. Hibiki takes the sheet and reads it over, his eyebrows climbing up the further he reads. Pausing, he looks up at Tsuna in amusement.

“So, Hibari-kun wants to make a Disciplinary Committee? I’ll make sure to speak with the principle and Hibari-san about it,” he offers, turning back to his desk to sign off on the creation request. Tsuna perks up happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet while waiting for the paper to be handed back before taking the paper.

“Thank you, Papa!” Tsuna chirps, turning and skipping out of the room. Hibiki hums idly to himself, grabbing his phone to send Yamato a text about a potential apprentice in Hibari-kun. The fifth graders on the beds moan in pain, causing Hibiki to sigh.

“Oh, don’t whine. If Hibari-kun didn’t get to you, that younger boy would be in here, so you’ll have no sympathy from me,” he scolds, returning to look at what needs to be either replaced or refilled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hibiki is probably the worst Doctor when it comes to bullies that Hibari beat up.


	13. Cloud Teaching and Learning

Yamato blinks at his son, who fidgets nervously in his seat. Closing his eyes and sighing heavily, Yamato leans back in his seat, crossing his arms as he stares down Tsuna.

“You want me to what?” he demands. Tsuna flinches, avoiding eye contact with his father as he fiddles shyly with his shirt.

“C-can you please t-teach Kyouya about h-handling a group? He, uh, doesn’t know how to lead the Committee without threatening violence,” Tsuna explains, squirming in his seat at the look Yamato is giving him. Leaning back in his seat, Yamato thinks about what Tsuna is asking. The Hibari heir is strong with a good head on his shoulders, a natural strategist and fighter. However, Yamato admits, the boy is also quick tempered and inflexible with his views, which don’t work well for a leader of a group.

“Why aren’t you leading in his stead, Tsuna?” Yamato asks, looking over at his son. Tsuna frowns, staring down at his idly kicking feet.

“I want to help support Kyouya and the others, but I don’t feel like I’m really a member of the Committee. I’m okay in a fight, but I don’t like fighting. I can help plan patrols and act as a middle man between the Committee and the other groups, but I’m not really a meditator either. I already explained this to Kyouya and Hana, and they kind of understand,” Tsuna explains slowly, like he’s been thinking about it for a while. Yamato hums in understanding, recalling how Hibiki always worked to defuse a situation before it could get violent. How his husband tried to avoid violence for as long as possible despite being a strong fighter.

“I see,” he admits, flipping through some papers he needs to look through due to a small group of demons appearing near Shinjuku. Humming in thought, he reads over the report, noting that Kuriki and Sako managed to defeat the stragglers while the group he sent handling the others easily.

“Very well. Tell him to come to JP’s headquarters after school for lessons,” he agrees. The way Tsuna’s face lights up causes something warm to bloom in his chest, the same thing that blooms when Hibiki smiles sleepily at him when they wake up in bed together or when he sees Tsuna and Hibiki asleep together on the couch, obviously trying to wait up for him.

* * *

Kyouya looks up at the older Carnivore, frowning as he follows Hotsuin-san through JP’s. While he understands why Tsunayoshi asked for his father to teach Kyouya, his pride still hurts a little at the thought of him being seen a poor leader of the Committee.

“Do you know what the specialty of each current member is?” Hotsuin-san asks as they walk amongst the Herbivores and Omnivores that work within JP’s. Kyouya blinks, frowning as he realizes that he doesn’t. Hotsuin-san seems to understand, continuing with his point, “Find out each specialty and have them focus on how to use it for the betterment of your organization. I know Kurokawa is good with handling school politics and information gathering, while Sasagawa-chan can manipulate students to work with you as opposed to against you without resorting to violence.” Kyouya hums in understanding, mentally placing the two Omnivores amongst administration and information gathering, although he would allow Sasagawa Kyoko to occasionally help curb the herd when he comes across those who would hurt Tsunayoshi.

“Sasagawa Ryohei would work well on patrol,” Kyouya attempts, glancing up at Hotsuin-san. The Carnivore nods, taking a file handed to him by the bored looking Omnivore Tsunayoshi calls Fumi-san and flipping it open.

“While that’s true, he also should be sent to Hibiki for First Aid training, as he seems interested in learning more about the human body,” Hotsuin-san points out, reminding Kyouya how the loud Herbivore seemed interested when biology comes up in their shared class. Humming and nodding, Kyouya continues to follow Hotsuin-san around JP’s, watching how he handles his subordinates and controls the small crowds that start to form. Watching as they bow and move out of the way of Hotsuin-san, Kyouya perks up at the absolute respect the older Carnivore gets. His eyes catch the sight of Tsunayoshi’s Mako-obasan as she gives directions to a small group before she starts walking toward them.

“Chief Hotsuin, we just got news that there is a small group in Fukuoka that is attempting to summon something big. I’ve already sent Wakui and Torii at text about the group along with sending a group of agents,” she tells him, falling in line with Hotsuin-san easily, handing him a file with whatever they were talking about in it. The Carnivore looks over the file, closes it with a nod, and hands it back.

“Make sure it’s filed properly, Sako. Keep communications open should they call for help,” he instructs. The woman nods before leaving them to continue through JP’s. Kyouya smirks, following Hotsuin-san eagerly to learn how to lead as well as Hotsuin-san can.

* * *

Tetsuya blinks in surprise as Kyouya reads over the file he and Kurokawa put together to explain what they’d need to handle the school. Hotsuin stands beside him, a small amount of space between them only so that Hotsuin can explain what they could do to handle the problems, his eyes flashing orange on occasion that Tetsuya isn’t sure he actually saw.

“Kusakabe, do you know anyone else we can pull in?” Kyouya demands, looking up at him with hard steel eyes. Tetsuya blinks before nodding, pulling out a notepad to write down what Kyouya might be looking for.

“We need people who can handle communication and some fighters. Intimidation would be fine, but they also need to be able to handle instructing people to where they need to be. We also need people who can help you and Kurokawa handle strategies and patrol routes while working with Sasagawa-chan to persuade people without threatening,” Kyouya rattles off, pausing to think before turning to Hotsuin, who smiles and nods. Tetsuya blinks again before nodding and writing it down along with a few people he can think of off the top of his head.

“I’ll be right back, Hibari-san,” Tetsuya tells him with a bow before turning to leave the room. Just before the door closes, he fights back a laugh when he hears Hotsuin lightly scold, “You can’t just beat everyone up to drag them into the Committee, Kyouya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so begins the Tyranny of the Discipline Committee.


	14. Partially Misty

Curling up tightly in a ball, Nagi hiccups against her knees. She’s in the park that her Mother insisted that she never go into because “no one would want to deal with a freak like you”, hiding from her Mother and Stepfather. Her knees hurt from where she fell earlier and the palms of her hands smell faintly like iron, telling her that she has scratches on them too. Her stomach hurts too, but Mother told her that she didn’t need to eat, that she is fat already and that she doesn’t deserve to eat. Nagi knows that she shouldn’t feel this, but she hates Mother. She hates the older woman who sneers at her, looking down her nose and slapping Nagi for no other reason than being there. She hates her Stepfather, who is more concerned about getting more money than in making sure she’s okay. Nagi lets out a sob, pressing her face against her knees as best she can.

“Hello?” Nagi jumps, her head whipping up to see a cute boy around her age. His fluffy brown hair and big brown eyes remind her of the doll she saw at the toy store a few days ago.

“H-hello,” she answers, curling in on herself while the boy seems to perk up and crouch beside her.

“My name’s Hotsuin Tsunayoshi. What’s yours?” he asks, smiling at her so warmly that she can’t help but smile back.

“I-It’s Dokuro Nagi, um, Hotsuin-san,” she stutters. Hotsuin-san blinks before laughing, sitting down beside her and pulls off the backpack she missed to rifle through.

“You don’t need to call me “-san”. You can call me “-kun” instead. Mugi Choco?” he offers, shaking the clear bag at her. Nagi’s mouth waters and she nods rapidly, watching avidly as he pops open the bag to shake some pieces out onto her hand. They sit quietly for a while, nibbling on the candies as they watch the birds flying around the trees above them.

“—na! Tsuna!” a man calls, catching Nagi’s attention. He’s really pretty, with shoulder length black hair that flies around his face and bright blue eyes that she can see, even at a distance. Hotsuin-kun perks up, standing up and waving, catching the man’s attention.

“Papa! Over here!” he calls. Nagi inhales sharply, unsure of what to do with the man coming toward them. He arrives and scoops Hotsuin-kun up in his arms, clinging to him in the way Nagi’s seen other parents do to their children, but never had done to her.

“Jesus, Tsuna. Don’t do disappear like that on me,” the man scolds lightly, pulling away enough to flick Hotsuin-kun on the forehead. Hotsuin-kun whines, rubbing his forehead, when the man turns his head to look down at Nagi with a smile.

“Are you okay?” he asks her, startling Nagi. No adult ever asked if she was okay before. Then again, her Mother would deter anyone from even looking at her with words like “No right in the head” and “disabled”, causing anyone who would try to turn away.

“U-um,” she stumbles, flinching when her scraped skin rubs against her scraped knees. The man’s eyebrows raise, setting Hotsuin-kun down and gently reaching toward her.

“May I see you hands and knees? I have a first aid kit on me, so I can patch you up,” he offers, pulling out a small bag. He opens it to let her see that it’s full of bandages, a small container of rubbing alcohol, a small sewing kit, and pain killing medication. Shyly, Nagi nods, watching avidly as the man quickly and effectively starts to pull items from the bag, gently dabbing her scratches with rubbing alcohol while frowning at something on her wrist and ankles. Wrapping the scrapes carefully in bandages, the man stands and holds his hand out.

“Let’s get you off the ground, hm?” he says, his face soft and kind and everything Nagi wishes she deserved. Swallowing around the lump in her throat, she accepts his hand, letting him pull her up although something makes him frown when she nearly stumbles into Hotsuin-kun from the pull.

“NAGI!!” Nagi winces and turns fearfully as her Mother storms over to where she stands with Hotsuin-kun and his Papa. Her Mother looks furious, giving Nagi the only warning about what will happen when they return to the apartment. She sees when her Mother realizes that she isn’t alone, watching as fear bleeds into her fury. Hotsuin-kun hides behind his Papa when her Mother finally arrived to where they stand. She roughly pulls Nagi against herself, her nails digging into her neck while Mother goes through the spiel of being “so worried for my Nagi” and “thank you for finding my precious daughter”.  Nagi, when finally released so Mother could continue to act, quietly accepts that Hotsuin-kun’s Papa is going to prevent her from playing with Hotsuin-kun when her mother tells them that Nagi is disabled.

“Oh? How so? She responded coherently when I wrapped her scrapes and she seems more shy than having a speech impediment. She also responded to me with distrust even though my son had called me Papa while beside her. I’m curious as to what disability she has,” he asks, undeterred. Her Mother pauses, shifting nervously, before she says something about it being a medical disability only the doctors know about. Hotsuin-kun gently grabs her hand and pulls her away while his Papa gets a really mean smile on his face.

“Papa, can I play with Dokuro-chan on the swings,” Hotsuin-kun asks before the man can say anything to Mother. The man’s mean smile softens as he ruffles Hotsuin-kun’s hair affectionately.

“Go ahead. I need to speak with Dokuro-san for a bit longer,” he agrees, turning back to Mother, who now looks fearful at the man’s smile. Hotsuin-kun nods before grabbing Nagi’s sleeve to lead her toward the swings. He motions for her to sit, which she does nervously, worried her Mother will storm over to drag her back to the apartment.

“Don’t worry, Papa will help,” Hotsuin-kun promises. Nagi blinks before smiling and nodding shyly, allowing herself to play quietly with the fluffy boy beside her.

 They play and laugh as Hibari and police arrive at the park. Hotsuin-kun shows her how he can do a handstand while her Mother is questioned savagely, the woman paling as Hotsuin-kun’s Papa is able to counter all the medical issues her Mother tries to claim she has. Nagi shyly shows him some moves she learned through ballet while her Mother starts to make threats and demands and begs to stay out of jail for child abuse, only to be denied by the Hibari leader. Eventually, the Hibari and police take her Mother away while Hotsuin-kun’s Papa walks over to them, a smile on his face politely bland.

“Hey, Dokuro-chan. Do you want to have a sleep over with Tsuna? He’s bringing over some of his other friends,” the man offers. Hotsuin-kun perks up excitedly, jumping happily in place while chanting, “Please come, please come, please come.”

“Um, a-as long as M-Mother is okay w-with it,” Nagi stutters, wincing at the line her Mother beat into her. Hotsuin-kun’s Papa twitched before taking a breath and smiling down at her.

“Don’t worry, she’s having her own sleep over,” he tells her. Nagi blinks, finally realizing that Mother is no longer in the park. Looking around, she feels a nervous, scared bundle of hope that someone took notice and took her Mother away.

“I-is she in jail?” Nagi asks. Hotsuin-kun’s Papa blinks before sighing and nodding, watching her carefully. Nagi… doesn’t know how she should feel. She feels happy, glad that her Mother is gone, but she probably shouldn’t. She’s excited to have a sleep over with Hotsuin-kun and she probably shouldn’t be with the threat of her Step-father being arrested to. Mostly, though, she’s just tired and relieved.

“C-can I please stay w-with you?” she stutters out. Hotsuin-kun’s Papa smiles softly at her, reminding Nagi of how pretty he is.

“Of course,” he answers, holding his hand out for her to hold.

* * *

Yamato looks down his nose at the couple in front of him and Hibari-san, Dokuro Yuna and Keishi. Due to Hibari-san’s own child, Namimori is different from the rest of Japan, as they have a more western way to handle child abuse. His phone goes off again, probably another picture of the couple’s daughter playing with his son and friends from Hibiki.

“Should I expect another Hotsuin to join your family?” Hibari-san asks lightly as the woman screams and cries about how unfair this is. Yamato presses his lips together, but doesn’t argue. Hibiki already started fretting over little Nagi while Tsuna adores her, already forming a semi-bond with the girl.

“Also, if you catch my son sneaking into your son’s room, make sure to remind him that I expect to see him at the breakfast table,” Hibari-san continues while the man of the couple tries to shove all the abuse on the woman, only to start a yelling match. Yamato snorts, glancing at Hibari-san before reminding her, “He’s a Cloud and Tsuna’s his Little Animal. Do you think me saying anything will cause a difference? I know I would have stayed with Hibiki if I had been told the same thing.” Hibari-san laughs, shaking her head while the couple gets a well deserved strike to their heads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yessssss, Nagi is going to be a Hotsuin and Tsuna gets a cute little sister. I didn't want to just leave her out in the cold and I already had plans for Mukuro, so I wanted to bring her in early. So, no real Chrome, but Nagi is going to get the love and affection she deserves.
> 
> Also, Japan is one of the worst nations for children. They've only recently started making it illegal to use corporal punishment on children due to the high number of child deaths from the hands of their parents. They also take the parent's word over the child's, thus preventing a child from escaping to safety without the threat of being given back to their abuser. This is why I mentioned that Namimori is more Western in that regard, otherwise Nagi would have been in more danger and the Hotsuin family wouldn't have been able to use their influence to get her to safety.


	15. About Flames and Relationships

The years of elementary crawled by as the Discipline Committee welcomed Nagi easily. Kyouya beat down some older kids and “retrained” them (aka handed them over to Tsuna, who used his Dad’s training methods and his Papa’s encouragement methods) to become productive members of both the Committee and society. Kusakabe quickly became Testuya to the group and he became an equally welcome friend into the Hotsuin mansion. Kyoko and Hana were a tag team, working out how to get other clubs to listen before violence while Ryohei’s enthusiasm assured people that the Discipline Committee isn’t just a thinly veiled gang. However, despite all this, Tsuna is left confused. His Flame feels big and it reaches out to all of his friends and his sister, even Takeshi who is currently spending more time on the baseball pitch than with them.

“Papa? I feel weird,” Tsuna admits one day, while waiting for Takeshi to show up to hang out with Nagi and the others. Papa looks up from some paperwork he has, his hair pulled back into a small ponytail thanks to Nagi.

“What do you mean by that, Tsuna?” Papa asks, setting the paper down and focusing on Tsuna. Fidgeting nervously, Tsuna tries to explain what’s happening.

“Well, my Flame feels like it’s… reaching? For, um, Kyouya, Nagi, Ryohei, and Takeshi. But, uh, it’s also… protective. Of Kyoko, Hana, and Testuya. Is, um, is that normal?” he manages. Papa blinks and frowns, pulling Tsuna onto his lap. While part of Tsuna wants to argue that he’s nine now, too old to be picked up, another part wants curl up against Papa and let everything move past them like it’s nap time.

“I don’t know much about Flames, but I do know that you’ve been forming bonds with your friends for a while now. Maybe we should get everyone together and talk about it. Your Dad knows about it and I know Saiduq knows more about it than anyone,” Papa says, resting his chin on Tsuna’s head. Tsuna hums in response, curling in just a little more to get more cuddles. The quiet bonding moment ends when Kyoko comes down from Tsuna’s room upstairs, where everyone else is currently hanging out, and Takeshi enters the mansion with a shout of, “I’m here!”

“Tsuna! You should have told us you wanted a cuddle piles,” Kyoko scolds jokingly while Takeshi enters the room and whines, “Aww, did I miss cuddle time.”

“Call the others down, Kyoko-chan. And nope, Takeshi-kun, you’re right on time,” Papa assures them, holding Tsuna against him to prevent him from escaping. Takeshi cheers and climbs over the couch to curl around Tsuna while Kyoko yells up and bounds onto the couch, draping herself over Papa to get to Tsuna. Whining at the feeling of being at the bottom of another cuddle pile, Tsuna can’t stop the giggle from escaping him when Ryohei roars as he launches himself at the pile while Nagi shyly joins. Hana, Kyouya, and Tetsuya keep just out of cuddle pulling range, watching as the group settles into their pile.

* * *

Al Saiduq blinks down at the small humans before him, cocking his head to the side. Tsunayoshi and Kyoko both copy him while Takeshi laughs and Hana sighs. Nagi shyly hides behind Kyouya, who is looking up at him, unimpressed, while Tetsuya watches him warily. Ryohei is practically vibrating in his seat, looking up at Al Saiduq excitedly. Blinking, Al Saiduq turns to Shining One and says, “I am reminded of the first time I met you and your friends.”

“I don’t know how to feel about that, but that’s not why I asked you to come. Tsuna is feeling the bonds you mentioned to us, so I thought it would be better to go to someone with more information than me,” Shining One explains. Al Saiduq nods, understanding why the Shining One asked for his help.

“Very well, I shall answer any question you may have,” Al Saiduq agrees, sitting down on a chair. Tsunayoshi immediately raises his hand, causing Al Saiduq to blink in surprise. He raises his hand in response, causing Kyoko to giggle and Hana to snicker while Ryohei and Takeshi both laugh. Even Kyouya and Tetsuya are doing their equivalent to laughing, to Al Saiduq’s confusion.

“Tsuna was raising his hand to have you pick him for the first question,” Shining One explains, smiling at Al Saiduq. Making an understanding noise, Al Saiduq nods at Tsunayoshi.

“What are Flames? Like, what do they mean, or does everyone have them?” Tsunayoshi asks. Kyouya perks up at the question, watching Al Saiduq carefully.

“Flames are a manifestation of will, the will to live, the will to fight, the will to survive. Every human has such Flames, although it is different for each individual. There are two main groups of Flame, the Flames of Earth and the Flames of Sky. A majority of people posses the Flames of Sky,” Al Saiduq explains. Kyoko raises her hand, catching his attention immediately.

“How do people activate their Flames?” she asks, watching him with a similar intensity as Fumi when the woman is intrigued by something he said. Blinking, Al Saiduq hums before smiling.

“I won’t tell you until we can get Yamato and Makoto here for safety reasons,” he explains, getting a groan from Kyoko and Ryohei, while Hana pouts and Takeshi lets out a soft noise of disapproval. Tsunayoshi raises his hand again.

“Why do I feel like I have connections to my friends with my Flames?” Tsunayoshi asks. Al Saiduq smiles as the group of children look at him curiously.

“You are a Sky, Tsunayoshi. Your Flames call to the others to hold them within your pure Sky. Do some feel stronger than others?” Al Saiduq asks. Tsunayoshi nods rapidly, coaxing a chuckle from the ex-Septentrione.

“Those stronger bonds are commonly called Guardians. The Flames work best within your Sky and will act as defenders should the need arise. However, that doesn’t make the other bonds less important, as those bonds still help both of you,” Al Saiduq explains. Tsunayoshi makes a noise of understanding, looking down at his hands thoughtfully. Tetsuya raises his hand, waiting patiently for Al Saiduq to point at the boy.

“Can you tell us what our Flames are?” he requests. Al Saiduq smiles at the little human, nodding as Shining One rises from the couch to call his husband.

“Of course. You are a Lightening. Hana is a Storm with a secondary Cloud. Ryohei and Kyoko are Suns, although Kyoko has a Cloud secondary as well. Takeshi is a Rain while Kyouya is a pure Cloud,” he explains, causing the kids to turn and chatter at each other, or stand back and listen in Kyouya’s case.

* * *

Tsuna watches the bright orange Flames flicker in his hand, the familiar warmth practically purring as it glows brightly. Dad and Mako-obasan is focusing on Hana and Tetsuya while Kyouya is glaring at Kyoko, Ryohei, and Takeshi. The trio are giggling as they flicker their flames just as easily as Tsuna does. Walking up to Nagi, who is sitting on the couch and frowning at her hand and the little Indigo Flame on it, Tsuna jumps down on the couch. The cushion drops, sending Nagi up with a surprised shriek. Tsuna flinches and looks over at Nagi with wide eyes when she lands beside him, looking just as surprised. Sharing a look, the two start laughing, leaning against each other. Kyouya wanders over, hopping up on the couch, causing the pair to lightly jump with yelps and laughter.

“What’s going on over there?” Dad asks when Papa peeks out of the kitchen from where he’s making snacks for them.

“I launched Nagi, then Kyouya launched us,” Tsuna explains through giggles, covering his face while Nagi presses her face against his shoulder, giggling just as helplessly. Papa laughs, carrying out a tray of snacks while shaking his head.

“Yeah, that couch is a launcher if you jump on it,” Papa explains, setting the tray down. Tsuna and Nagi scramble off the couch to grab some cookies and apples, while Papa drops down onto the couch, ignoring how he launches Kyouya up into the air. He lands with a confused, startled expression while Papa leans forward to look at Nagi.

“So, Nagi-chan, what’s got you pouting at your Flame?” Papa asks, while Dad cocks an eyebrow at how confused Kyouya looks.

“It’s just…They’re smaller than the others…” Nagi mumbles around a cookie pressed against her mouth. Tsuna hums and leans against her, patting her back affectionately.

“That is because you share half,” Al-san says, startling everyone in the room. Kyouya practically launches himself at the pale man, only to be stopped by Mako-obasan catching him around the waist. Al-san crouches down to look at Nagi, petting her hair affectionately.

“There is another with your Flame, a twin somewhere else that will lead to powerful Mists,” Al-san explains, settling down on the couch, ignoring Kyouya’s frustrated anger. Tsuna turns away from Al-san and Nagi as Al-san explains how, occasionally, people who share family history will also share Flames. Tsuna reaches up, catching Kyouya’s hand and holding it, getting his (and that’s what Kyouya is, his. No matter where he roams, Kyouya will return to Tsuna) Cloud to look at him.

“Breathe, Kyouya,” Tsuna implores, watching as his Cloud slowly stops struggling before sagging in Mako-obasan’s arms. She looks down at them with a bewildered look before lowering Kyouya back onto the couch. Tsuna takes the chance to cuddle against Kyouya, smiling up at the older boy when he shifts to look down at Tsuna. A pretty red flush crosses Kyouya’s face before he looks up to glare at Kyoko and Hana, who are whispering to each other while glancing at them.

“Tsunayoshi… let go,” Kyouya orders, avoiding eye contact with Tsuna. Humming softly, Tsuna feels Kyouya’s Cloud Flames cling to his Sky before shaking his head and smiling up at the older boy.

“Nope! You’re comfy,” he chirps, feeling his heart speed up when Kyouya flushes even darker and pouts while looking away. And _oh no, that’s what it means to like someone, oh no, oh crap, oh jeeze_.

* * *

Hibiki holds onto Yamato’s wrist, not even surprised that his husband wants to fight his own apprentice to prevent him from even starting to think about dating their son.

“Down, Yamato, calm down,” Hibiki sighs. Yamato quietly snarls, glaring at the younger Cloud before deciding to curl around his husband possessively, frowning (pouting. His husband is pouting and it’s adorable) thoughtfully against his neck.

“Do you think we can make Hibari stop liking Tsuna?” Yamato asks against Hibiki’s neck. Humming, Hibiki looks over at his son, only to see two red faces instead of just the one.

“I think it’s too late for that, Yamato,” Hibiki chuckles, patting his husband's head reassuringly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Tsuna realizes the reason he always looks at Kyouya! Jesus, this was a long time coming. Also, yes, Mukuro is going to be related by blood to Nagi, I'm just not sure if it will be as twins or as cousins. Give me your thoughts in the comments, because it'll be a long while before he shows up.
> 
> While I'm happy to have all of you reading this, I have some sad news for you readers while it's good for me. I now have a full-time job, which will limit the time I get to write these stories. Because of this, I won't be able to update this twice a week any more. I may not even be able to update it weekly. So please have some patience with me, I'll try to update this as often as possible.


	16. Gaining Protection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE!!!! My job kicks my ass, as it's pretty physically demanding, but I managed to finish this chapter. Please enjoy.

The passing of the year is slow, as the kids learn how to use their Flames. Ryohei and Kyoko both start taking first aid lessons from Otome-sensei, learning to use their Flames to accelerate the healing. Hana and Tetsuya both start learning how to use their Flames with Mako-obasan and Ron-ojisan respectively. Nagi gets help in control and increased strength from Fumi-san and some “interesting” ideas from Joe-ojisan. Tsuna and Papa learn together how their Sky Flames react and interact with things, under the watchful eyes of Kyouya and Dad. Now, however, Tsuna is dragging Kyouya out to the Sakura festival in Tokyo during their spring break.

“Omnivore, sit down,” Kyouya huffs, pulling Tsuna back down from where he is pressing his face against the train window. Giggling, Tsuna sits down beside his Cloud, tapping his head against the older boy’s shoulder before looking around the train again. Kyouya huffs again, his face pinkening prettily.

“There’s a nice place far from the crowds that Papa takes Dad and I when we go,” Tsuna explains eagerly, beaming as the pink is slow to fade from his Cloud’s face. Kyouya hums and nods, avoiding Tsuna’s eyes by glaring at a group of high schoolers who are talking loudly together. They ride until they can exchange from the Namimori line into Tokyo to the Hanzomon line to Kinshicho, exiting to join the Sumida Park Cherry Blossom Festival.

“We’re here!” Tsuna cheers, grinning as he runs ahead and turns back to Kyouya. The older boy hums, walking calmly behind him as the pink petals flow through the breeze blowing around them. Together, they walk past most families and groups that are settled on blankets and towels. Tsuna runs up to the rail separating the park from the river, cooing softly at the petals drifting on the top of the water.

“Kyouya! Come look at this!” Tsuna calls excitedly, pointing to the pale pink river. His Cloud huffs out a soft laugh, trudging behind him to look at the water. They stand like that, leaning against the railing to get a good look at the river, Tsuna almost hanging over the water. A stretch of content silence passes them, soft murmurs from families and friends drifting over to them.

“This is nice,” Tsuna whispers, leaning against Kyouya’s shoulder. The older boy nods with a hum, leaning back against his Sky. Abruptly, a scream rings through out the area, startling them from their peace. They turn as creatures spill into the park and start to slaughter people.

* * *

Hibiki rushes down the street of Tokyo, growling and cursing under his breath. He hears Yamato following him just as urgently, both sending off spells and attacks to any demons they come across. When they got the call from some JP’s subordinates about a large group of demons appearing in Tokyo, they took off immediately, attempting to minimize the civilian casualties to the best of their abilities (which is rather impressive compared to the subordinates, so they’ve been successful). Arriving at Sumida Park, Hibiki curses softly, sending out Alice and Metatron to scatter the demons and allow the citizens a chance to escape. Not far from him, Yamato is casting Megidolaon, eviscerating a small group of demons with ease.

“This isn’t just a large group of demons,” Yamato grits out, glaring at a kobold who yelps and tries to flee. Hibiki trips the weak demon with a sweep before rising to axe-kick it’s head, killing it immediately.

“It’s almost a force, like a group of people failed to form a contract with the demons,” Hibiki agrees, standing up straight and looking around the once festive park, flinching at the sight. Bodies and gore are thrown all around the area, children’s bodies piled around the small playground while some are covered by their parent’s body, in a desperate attempt to protect their child with their last breath.

“Fuck,” Hibiki hisses under his breath, scanning the area for any survivors. Most of the area is still coated with bodies and blood, however, over by the river, is a strange phenomenon. A ring of bright orange fire that dissolves demons as soon as they touch the flame, instead of merely burning the demons, even the ones that are supposed to be immune to fire.

“Those are Sky Flames,” Yamato hisses, casting Megido on a small group of demons near the Flames. Hibiki inhales sharply, his eyes widening as he grits his teeth and sprints to where the Flames are. Squinting through the orange Flames, he snarls at the faint figure of Tsuna curled protectively over another person.

“Tsuna!” Hibiki yells, watching as the head of Tsuna’s figure rises and seems to turn to look where Hibiki is.

“Papa? Is that you? Kyouya is hurt!” Tsuna cries back. Hibiki hears Yamato snarl behind him, easily killing the remainder with a wave of his hand.

“Tsuna, you need to calm down and disperse your Flames,” Hibiki orders calmly, silently praying that his voice doesn’t shake. There is a long pause before the bright orange Flames sputter and go out, leaving Tsuna, a small Flame on his forehead, curling protectively around Hibari. Hibiki hurries over, running his hand reassuringly through Tsuna’s hair while quickly cataloguing Hibari’s injuries.

“An ambulance is coming,” Yamato tells them calmly, standing protectively over the trio. Tsuna sobs and buries his face into Hibiki’s shoulder, seeking some form of comfort that Hibiki hopes he can provide.

* * *

Kyouya blinks awake to an obnoxious beeping noise and an unfamiliar white ceiling. Looking around, he realizes that he’s in a hospital. Scowling, he starts to try and leave only to stop at the feeling of a hand squeezing his own. Looking down, he sees the Little Animal sleeping peacefully, his head resting on one of his arms, both on the bed, while his other hand holds Kyouya’s own. Heat creeps into him, getting a soft snarl from Kyouya. Despite his acknowledgement of his affections for Tsunayoshi, Kyouya refuses to allow such Herbivorous behavior to show. The younger boy moans softly as he wakes, blinking drowsily at Kyouya before jerking awake upon realizing his friend is awake.

“Kyouya! You’re awake! I- I thought-” Tsunayoshi hiccups, tears welling in his eyes. Panic rises in Kyouya’s throat (as it seems to always do when Tsunayoshi is close to crying), before he grasps the younger boy’s face in his hands and tries to tap foreheads with his Sky. Instead, he headbutts the poor boy, causing both of them to recoil and hold their heads in pain. Hotsuin-sensei opens the door to his hospital room, blinking in surprise at the sight of the boys holding their heads in pain.

“Um… Are you two alright?” he asks, covering his mouth to hide a smile while the two rub at their injuries.

“Un,” Kyouya grunts out, dropping his hands to watch avidly as Hotsuin-sensei chuckles and looks at the chart at the end of his bed. Tsunayoshi drops his own hands to crawl down the bed, trying to peer at his chart.

“Well, I have good news and bad news,” Hotsuin-sensei tells them, handing the chart to his son to look over. Kyouya frowns and nods, watching as his mentor’s husband sit in the chair Tsunayoshi abandoned in favor of crawling on the hospital bed.

“Good news is that you don’t have a concussion. No brain damage and no major nerval issues. However, the bad news is that you have three broken ribs and a broken leg along with heavy laceration along your torso, which needed stitches. So, as a doctor, I recommend you focus on management of the Committee for the next month, to allow your body time to heal,” Hotsuin-sensei instructs. Kyouya huffs, but nods reluctantly, already trying to figure out a way around the restriction. As if knowing what he’s thinking, Tsunayoshi looks up from the chart (where he was adorably mouthing words that he recognized and was attempting to remember the meaning to) and pins him in place with a blazing orange gaze.

“No,” his Sky tells him firmly, and that is that. Kyouya huffs and crosses arms, narrowing his eyes at the older Omnivore.

“Omnivore, what were those things,” he demands. Hotsuin-sensei stills before sighing and rubbing at his temples. He quietly says something about ‘knowing this would happen’ and how he needs ‘get everyone gathered up’ before turning back to Kyouya and Tsunayoshi with a serious look.

“Once we get the other doctor’s go ahead, we’ll get everyone together to explain,” Hotsuin-sensei tells them. Kyouya scowls at the answer, snapping, “No. What. Were. Those. Things.” Hotsuin-sensei blinks at him before sighing, rubbing at his eyes tiredly as he walks over to a chair and drops down into it.

“Demons. Those things were demons,” he finally answers.

* * *

It takes well over two weeks before Yamato stands before his son and friends (partially due to his protegee’s injuries), but he is here, scowling at the gathered elementary children and his middle school student.

“I will explain once, and only once. If you have any questions further or something was not explained in a manner you can understand, please seek Miyako or Sako for those,” Yamato warns them, watching coldly as Yamamoto-kun laughs nervously, Kurokawa-chan pulls out a notebook and a pencil, the Sasagawa siblings lean forward to hear better, Kusakabe-kun straightens his back, Hibari leans forward eagerly, Nagi fidgets nervously, and Tsuna stares up at him with bright orange eyes. Clearing his throat, Yamato starts his spiel that he gives to all JP’s trainees.

“JP’s stands for the Japan Meteorological Agency, Geomagnetism Research Department. Using an ability that my family has passed down through the generations, we protect Japan from Demons and similar ilk that would threaten humanity,” Yamato pauses, scanning over the collected children. Smirking, he continues, “The job of those who work under JP’s is to protect the lives of all Japanese citizens. Our lives are the only line of defense between them and those that would devour them. Each JP’s agent is given access to a summoning program, allowing them to call upon their own demons to help act as defenders. The agent is told to activate the program once, in a safe environment, and forced to either combat or contract the demon that is initially released. Once the demon is under the agent’s control, they are considered tamers and sent out with a senior agent to get hands on experience.” Hibari grins up at Yamato, practically vibrating with the promise of violence, while the other children turn to speak quietly to each other, the male Sasagawa sibling surprisingly quiet. Tsuna abruptly stands, the children turning, deferring, to their Sky, as he looks Yamato in the eye.

“Can you teach us how to be tamers? We need to be able to defend ourselves if we want to defend others,” Tsuna requests, earnestly. Yamato feels like the floor just disappeared from underneath him, leaving him mentally flailing and completely unsteady. He knows what this feeling is, this creeping chill and want to wrap his little boy in blankets while burning everything that would even think about hurting Tsuna. Hibiki called it the parent fear, Yamato calls it hell on his logic.

“I will speak with Hibiki and the others to see what we will do,” he answers calmly, ignoring how his heart is pounding in abject terror or how his hindbrain is hissing that he needs to lock Tsuna into his room with constant surveillance.

* * *

Tsuyoshi shifts awkwardly, his hand twitching for Shingure Kintoki as Sako-san walks his son and friends through the summoning and contracting part of dealing with demons while Kanno-san sits off to the side, checking over the controls and defenses of the room.

“Nervous?” Hotsuin-sensei (not quite Hibiki-san yet, but their friendship is getting there, Tsuyoshi decides) asks, startling Tsuyoshi from his darker thoughts. Turning to face the dark-haired doctor, Tsuyoshi covers his surprise with laughter, scratching the back of his head.

“I don’t know how you can be so calm,” Tsuyoshi deflects, watching as the doctor tilts his head with a soft hum.

“Maybe it’s because I can think of it as extra protection for Tsuna,” Hotsuin-sensei admits with a shy smile. For not the first time, Tsuyoshi wishes he was a good ten years younger, if only to feel less creepy when he finds the younger man attractive. The flare of possessive Cloud Flames immediately reminds Tsuyoshi why he shouldn’t. Hotsuin-san steps up behind his husband, practically wrapping himself around the dark-haired man.

“Your hair is getting long,” Hotsuin-san comments idly, watching as Sako-san steps back and Tsuna-kun steps forward, fiddling with the phone his parents provided him with. Hotsuin-sensei hums in answer, turning his head slightly to press a kiss against his husband’s cheek. Tsuyoshi chuckles at the domesticity of the couple, trying to ignore the hiss of a possessive Cloud, when a bright light flares from where the kids are. The three adults hurry to the window, Tsuyoshi blink in surprise while Hotsuin-sensei gapes and Hotsuin-san raises a single silver eyebrow. A large, humanoid being gently floats before Tsuna-kun, six wings spread out behind him while a white cloth wraps around its body. It faces the tiny elementary schooler, almost considering before it nods its head and gently taps Tsuna-kun’s forehead before disappearing in another bright light.

“Did Tsuna just summon Lucifer for his first demon?” Hotsuin-sensei asks faintly. Tsuyoshi turns back to the Hotsuin couple in surprise, more so at the sight of the dazed look on Hotsuin-sensei’s face. Hotsuin-san hum out a confirmation, his eyes flickering between his son and his husband. The doctor sways a little before dropping down into a chair, exhaling sharply.

“They’re all going to be like that, aren’t they?” Hotsuin-sensei mumbles as Takeshi practically skips forward. Hotsuin-san chuckles, his eyes narrowed in a look Tsuyoshi recognizes as planning, while Takeshi fiddles with his own new phone.

“Perhaps,” Hotsuin-san admits, while the phone lets out a bright light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kid's Demons are as follows:  
> Tsuna: Lucifer (99), Nebiros (86)  
> Takeshi: Masakado (82), Fenrir (66)  
> Kyoko: Amaterasu (77), Titania (58)  
> Hana: Alice (88), Xi Wangmu (78)  
> Nagi: Lilith (83), Black Maria (73)  
> Ryohei: Okuninushi (87), Frost Five (76)  
> Kyouya: Satan (99), Ongyo-ki (83)
> 
> Are they overpowered? Yes. Is there a reason? Kind of. Why? Basically, the kids are the "New Game+" for the original Demon Tamers.


	17. Of Prostitutes, Boxing, and Chat logs

Having gotten demons, the kids all gather around Mako, reminding Fumi of excited puppies surrounding their dam for nursing. It’s pretty obvious that her girlfriend is out of her depth, especially when her own personal demon is Palla Athena, which doesn’t seem to work well with most of the kid’s own demons. Fumi sighs, smirking while Mako explains carefully how to equip skills and use them in battle. While Tsuna, Hibari, Sasagawa-chan, and Kurokawa obviously understand, Yamamoto seems to be unsure while Sasagawa-kun is just confused. Nagi is frowning at her phone, wandering over to Fumi.

“Um, Fumi-san? What is this?” Nagi asks, pointing at the image of a Kobold with the bidding set up. Unable to decide if she’s amused or just confused, Fumi just rolls with it, pulling open her own Devil Auction.

“This is what we call the Devil Auction, it allows you to purchase demons to add to your side or for fusing into stronger demons,” Fumi explains plainly. Nagi hums in understanding, looking back at the phone curiously before looking up and asking, “So are they prostitutes?” Fumi chokes, blinking owlishly at the usually shy girl.

“…no, they’re more like mercenaries than prostitutes,” Fumi corrects. Nagi hums again, turning back to Mako. Waiting until Nagi rejoins the group, Fumi opens the chatlog Hibiki made for them.

* * *

 **ComputerQueen** : who taught nagi the word prostitutes?

 **ComputerQueen** :I’m not mad I just want to talk

 **Slenderman** : aousdhfljasdof

 **Justice** : Ex-fucking-scuse me?

 **ComputerQueen** : you’re excused ronaldo

 **ComputerQueen** : still didn’t answer the question

 **HBIC** : Her mother is to blame.

 **HBIC** : Also, what does this nickname mean?

 **HBIC** : May I also know who gave me this nickname.

 **Dancer** : it means head bitch in charge

 **Dancer** : also its Hibikis fault

 **HBIC** : …

 **HBIC** : I need to go punish my husband.

 **Slenderman** : oo! Kinky!

* * *

Keita splays on the couch in the Hotsuin mansion, staring up at the ceiling. He’s off for the next six weeks. No opponents, no jeering, no real challenges unless he can coax a spar from Hibiki or Hotsuin. He groans, already bored and it’s just his first day off.

“EXTREME!!” a yell echoes through the mansion, startling him. Turning toward the shout, Keita blinks at the sight of the Sasagawa boy, who’s bouncing around excitedly and jabbing at the air.

“Wakui-sanyou’reback!!Thisisgreat!Canyouteachmehowtoboxinsteadofjustfight?Iwannalearnhowtobox.ItlooksEXTREMEandreallycool!” the kid motormouths, bouncing at Keita and looking up at him with stars in his eyes. Keita leans away from the kid, eyeing the brat like he’s about to explode.

“Calm the hell down,” Keita orders. The kid stops bouncing, still looking up at Keita with stars and practically vibrating instead. The kid practically sprints around the couch before bowing at a near perfect ninety-degrees.

“Please teach me to box!” the brat yells, startling Keita. The boxer looks around the empty room, hoping that Hibiki or even the dumbass Jungo shows up to shoo the kid away. No such luck.

“Look, kid. I don’t do that ‘teaching’ shit. Hell, I’m still not sure if I’m the best fucker for sparring,” Keita explains, wincing when the little brat actually stops bouncing to look up at him, hurt and confused. Wincing, he realizes how it sounds, mentally cursing as he tries to not upset the kid more.

“I’m, uh, not nice enough to teach,” Keita decides. The kid blinks before protesting, “But Nagi-chan gets lessons from Kanno-san, and she’s really mean.” The boxer clicks his tongue, because that’s true. The giant nerd is an absolute bitch and is still more likely to use a student for one of her experiments than actually teach them (Keita will admit that she’s changed from just focusing on science, but it’s still one of her two passions).

“Alright, look. I’ll teach you some basics while I’m off, but once the boxing season starts back up, you need to have another boxing teacher. I can’t be here all the time, and boxing needs that kind of focus and dedication,” Keita offers. The kid perks up at that, pumping his fist up in the air.

“Yeah! That sounds EXTREME!” the kid cheers, jumping up and down. Keita leans back into the sofa, watching as the kid sprints out of the living room, before tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling.

“I’m gonna regret this, aren’t I?” he mumbles.

“Probably,” Shijima agrees, appearing from fucking nowhere and startling the shit out of Keita.

* * *

 **YEET** : So

 **YEET** : wtf happened Daichi?

 **LastBraincell** : Well its like this

 **Bxrchamp** : he snuck up on me

 **Bxrchamp** : I punched him

 **LastBraincell** : aluhdfeja basically

 **YEET** : What a fucking legend

* * *

“The kids should have their own chat,” Hibiki states. Yamato blinks at the computer screen, where he’s watching the Vongola spy’s movement within Namimori, before slowly turning his head to face his husband.

“What,” he intones, arching an eyebrow. Hibiki hums, looking up from the health forms he recently filled for Tsunayoshi’s friends, and smiles.

“I think that the kids should have their own private chat. We’ll still be admins and can pop in when need be, but it’ll mostly be used for the kids to communicate,” Hibiki explains. Yamato leans back, thinking it through. Despite how close the kids lived to each other, there were some activities that left them unable to communicate. With Kurokawa and Sasagawa taking lessons from Kujou and Bann, Nagi and her lessons in Mist Flames and computers with Kanno (which is still something of a surprise, until Yamato realized that she fell in love with the challenge and how beautiful the final product became), Sasagawa with his boxing and first aid training, Yamamoto with his baseball, Hibari still learning under his wing, and Tsunayoshi learning about Sky Flames from Saiduq along with Hibiki, the group can be split fairly far.

“That would be a good idea. We will need to set some limitations at first,” Yamato agrees, pulling up the computer-version of the messaging program that they use. Feeling Hibiki’s warmth drape over his shoulder, Yamato quickly creates at new chatlog while setting up restrictions. Occasionally, Hibiki will point at one and have it reworded (the female Sasagawa is nefarious for abusing loopholes made by a poor choice in vocabulary) or arguing against certain rules. In the end, they complete the guidelines and have the chat set up.

“You do realize that they will make their own chat, correct?” Yamato points out as he leans into Hibiki’s warmth. His husband chuckles, pressing a kiss to his temple with a bright smile.

“Yeah, but hopefully, they behave themselves,” Hibiki says. Yamato hums in agreement, flipping back over to see where the Vongola spy has gone before nearly braining himself upon realizing that he’s at the edge of town while Tsunayoshi’s GPS (which he promised to keep on him at all times) indicates that he’s at school.

“The Vongola hired a bunch of idiots,” Hibiki huffs for him, pushing dark bangs out of his eyes. Without looking away from the screen, Yamato pulls out a hair clip for his husband to use. Honestly, what the hell were the Vongola thinking?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I'm starting another story. This one will just be chat logs running parallel with the main story. It won't be chapter to chapter, but it's going to be more humor based than the main storyline.
> 
> Also, chat names are as follows:  
> ComputerQueen: Fumi  
> Slenderman: Joe  
> Justice: Ronaldo  
> HBIC: Yamato  
> Dancer: Hinako  
> YEET: Hibiki  
> LastBraincell: Daichi  
> Bxrchamp: Keita


	18. Welcome to Hell! (Or just the Discipline Committee)

Tsuna blinks drowsily, frowning as the school’s principal drones on and on about the importance of feeling a part of the school. Glancing around, he spots Kyoko nodding off while Hana is looking at something on her phone. Takeshi is asleep in his seat, getting giggles and chuckles from the people around him. Fighting back a yawn himself, he looks up at the stage, raising an eyebrow at Kyouya, who looks ready to fight the principal if only to shut the old man up.

“… and now, I welcome you to Namimori Chuugakou,” he finally finishes, signally for everyone to start clapping. Tsuna snickers when he feels Takeshi’s Flames jump in surprise at being woken so abruptly by the applause. Glancing up at the stage, he sees Kyouya raise an eyebrow and give Takeshi an exasperated look (at least to Tsuna and his friends. From how the people around Takeshi are reacting, Kyouya just looks angry). The baseball player gives a sheepish shrug before the group of new middle schoolers are led out of the auditorium by their new teachers. Their homeroom teacher, a man by the name of Iseri Kenji, leads them to classroom 1-A. Glancing down the line, Tsuna sighs in relief at seeing his friends trailing after the man as well. As soon as they enter the classroom, Tsuna realizes that it will be difficult to sit with any of his friends. Takeshi is shuttled to the middle of the classroom by the few Baseball Club members, already trying to coax him to join the club even though he promised Tsuna and the others that he’d join them in the Disciplinary Committee. Kyoko and Hana are forced to sit close to the classroom door, if only to avoid their admirers from surrounding them. Tsuna finds himself sitting in a desk beside the window, within the middle row of the class.

“Now, here’s what is expected of you all this year,” Iseri-sensei starts, turning and writing on the board at the front of the class. Tsuna pulls out a notebook, writing down everything Iseri-sensei writes to go over with Dad when he gets home from JP’s, to see if they’ve already covered it or not. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kyoko and Hana doing the same while Takeshi is waving off the Baseball Club members. Feeling Takeshi’s Flames prod at him, Tsuna allows his own Flames to pet them soothingly, grinning at how it seems to relax Takeshi immediately. However, while Takeshi relaxes, Iseri-sensei is tensing as he finishes explaining what is going to happen during the course of the year. He slowly turns to the class and eyes everyone nervously.

“Now, I’ve been informed that there are some members of the Disciplinary Committee in this class. I was told to have you leave to get started on your duties,” he coughs, scanning the room shakily. Tsuna stands easily, grinning at the sight of Kyoko and Hana standing with him. Turning his head, Tsuna practically beams when Takeshi stands, grinning back at him easily. Without another word to their teacher or classmates, the four exit the room calmly, going down the hall a good three classrooms before bursting into laughter.

“He was so nervous!” Takeshi laughs, clutching at his stomach. Kyoko is giggling into her hands while Hana gives a huff of amusement.

“Of course that monkey would be nervous. It’s about Hibari,” she points out, getting a new bundle of giggles from Kyoko. Tsuna laughs at that, leading them up to the third year floor that held the DC’s base. Arriving at the room, Tsuna opens the door easily, ignoring the other first years attempting to join the DC, and heads right to Kyouya’s desk. Grabbing a stack of paper, he turns on his heel to an empty desk beside Hana’s desk, already reading through the papers.

“Hey! What are you doing?” One of the other first years snaps. Tsuna stops, blinks down at the page before slowly turning his eyes to his yearmate, certain his eyes were the brilliant orange of his Flames.

“My job,” he deadpans, completely unimpressed with the other boy. The boy curls his lip at Tsuna, the other first years looking at him just as angrily.

“Oh? And what is that?” he sneers, leering at Tsuna. Blinking slowly at the boy, Tsuna calmly places the papers down on his desk before turning to face his yearmate.

“What’s your name?” Tsuna asks. The kid blinks, leaning back in surprise while the other first years glance at each other in confusion.

“What?” the kid sputters.

“Your name. What is it?” Tsuna repeats, leaning against his desk. The boy puffs up, looking down his nose at Tsuna.

“I’m Kino Takahashi, best fighter in my karate class,” he brags. Tsuna straightens up, calmly brushing off his uniform before half-assing his bow.

“My name is Hotsuin Tsunayoshi, son of Hotsuin Yamato and Hotsuin Hibiki. 1st of my year, second in command and co-founder of the Disciplinary Committee, heir of JP’s, and black belt within judo, aikido, and naginata-do,” Tsuna introduces himself, letting a Hotsuin smile cross his face as understanding and fear crosses the group’s face. Takeshi, who slid into the group quietly upon entering the room, laughs at the abundant fear Tsuna has planted in the DC-hopefuls when the door to the room opens again, allowing Kyouya to enter.

“Omnivore, stop terrorizing the Herbivores,” Kyouya huffs, striding over to his desk to look through the club forms the group placed on his table. He pauses to raise an eyebrow at Takeshi, who laughs again before handing over his own form. Accepting the form, Kyouya sits down and starts his spiel about what the Disciplinary Committee is about. Tsuna sits down in his seat, sorting through reports and reading through patrol route plans, ignoring the whimpering of most of the first years and Takeshi’s snickering. Hana leans over to whisper, “it’s totally a club,” to Tsuna, making him snort and Kyouya (who somehow knows what Hana said? How?) snaps his head toward her, glaring.

* * *

Kyouya sighs as the Herbivores and baseball Beta (because Yamamoto is a Carnivore that answers to him and the Omnivore. Both the Sasagawa siblings and Kurokawa aren’t Herbivores either, making them Betas to their pack as well) leave with Tetsuya to do the physical aspect of the weeding process. He doesn’t need weak, power-hungry Herbivores trying to make moves in the Disciplinary Committee. He needs more Betas, or more accurately Gammas, to help handle the herd living within Namimori. A shadow appears above him, bringing Kyouya’s attention up.

“Here’s the properly-written reports and Dad made another problem he wants you to solve,” Tsunayoshi explains, handing Kyouya the stack of papers. Kyouya takes the papers from his Sky, snapping his hand out to catch his Little Animal’s wrist before he can return to his desk.

“Omnivore, Ueno Park. This weekend?” Kyouya asks. He watches Tsunayoshi blink, his eyes flashing orange briefly before a smile crosses his face.

“Of course, Kyouya,” he agrees. Kyouya’s mouth twitches, before he nods and releases the Sky’s wrist, watching reverently as the younger boy practically glides back to his desk. The room descends back into silence, the soft clacking of computer keys and scratches of pens across paper fill the room. However, the Sasagawa Omnivore leans over to loudly whisper to Kurokawa, “Are they ever going to say outloud that they’re dating?”

“They’re courting, Kyoko,” Kurokawa huffs in amusement. The Sasagawa Omnivore hums before standing and walking to his desk. Kyouya glares halfheartedly at the girl, waiting for her to speak.

“So, what’s the difference between courting and dating?” she asks. Kyouya clicks his tongue, looking back down at the reports.

“I plan to marry Tsunayoshi once we are of age. Dating is for understanding compatibility,” he explains, signing off the report. Sasagawa hums in understanding.

“Does that mean you’re gonna fuck him?” Kyouya stops writing, snapping the pen in his hand in half.

“… you have ten seconds, Sasagawa.”

“Welp…”

* * *

Takeshi laughs at the sight of all the other guys laying on the ground, gasping for breath and whining. Turning to Kusakabe with a grin, he asks, “Wasn’t this a warm-up?” The taller boy chuckles and nods. Laughing again, Takeshi turns back and opens his mouth to say something when a blur passes the group by. Blinking, he realizes that Kyoko just ran by when Hibari sprints past as well. Both Takeshi and Kusakabe watch idly as the girl laughs, dodging and blocking Hibari’s attacks.

“It was an honest question!”

“You know better, Omnivore.”

“Oh, come on! I should be allowed to know! I’m Tsu-kun’s best friend!”

“You don’t need to know such information.” Takeshi scratches at the back of his head, sharing an amused look with Kusakabe before deciding he’ll ask in the group chat later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, I did put Tsuna into multiple martial arts. However, given that he's the son and heir to a powerful group that is constantly under attack, I feel like him being able to fight is appropriate. Also, Reborn needs more confusion in his life, so, here you go. *hands him a capable, smart, dangerous Tsuna who isn't fond of Vongola* Have fun Reborn!


End file.
